CLINTON ASSURES HELP
TO TVU STUDENTS
SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service

NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
promised to help the Indian students affected by the closing down of the dubious Tri Valley University in California.
In a lengthy telephonic conversation that Indian Minister for External Affairs S.M. Krishna had from New York
with her, Secretary Clinton assured of all help and agreed
to personally intervene and sort out the matter.
The plight of the Indian students of the sham Tri Valley

University that was shut down by the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities last month was
one of the major issues that featured during Minister
Krishna's brief visit to New York last week.
The Minister, who was officially here to address a UN
Security Council meet, brought up the subject in his telephonic conversation with Secretary Clinton on Feb 13, and
sought her personal intervention in the matter with a view to
ensuring that the interests of the students are protected and
their future is not jeopardized.
Details on page 6

S M Krishna

G4 call for UNSC
reform and
expansion
Details on page 7

Outsourcing of
OCI/PIO cards
announced
Details on page 14

Rham gets
endorsed by
Indian Americans

Raja sent to
Tihar Jail under
judicial custody

Details on page 15

Cook County to
lay off 170
employees

Details on page 10

Bryan Adams'
Delhi concert
cancelled

Details on page 16

Details on page 9

ICC WC opens
with Dhaka pride
and passion

Marc Grossman
to be US special
envoy to Af-Pak
Details on page 11

INDIA POST SURVEY
survey@indiapost.com
This week’s question

Did press conference save
Manmohan Singh’s image?
Last week’s result

Illiterate Indians are being
duped to enter US?
YES 81%

NO 19%

DATE WITH DABBAS: Amidst his packed high-level meetings in India, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke found time to
visit Mumbai's legendary Dabbawalas to learn about their unique logistics operation that delivers home-cooked
food to hundreds of thousands of people daily. (Details on page 40)

Details on page 44

CONTENTS
Bollywood ---------------------- 24-25

Illinois Asian American population up 39%

Classifieds ------------------------- 47

SURENDRA ULLAL

Date Book -------------------------- 46

CHICAGO: The Asian American population of Illinois
has grown to 586,934, according to U.S. Census Bureau
figures. This growth marks a 39% increase since 2000.
There are 92,304 Asian Americans in DuPage County,
making them now 10% of the County's total population.
These figures confirm that Asian Americans have
become one of the fastest growing segments of the state's
population, while other races in Illinois have seen an
overall decline. The surge in Asian Americans is also
reflected at other levels of economic and academic activities as many Asian Americans have turned out to be

in forefront of business, educational and community
organizations. However, many do feel that this upswing
is not really reflected at the political level and this impacts on the representation of problems at the level which
matter a lot.
Currently there are no Asian American Congressional
members, Illinois General Assembly members, nor aldermen in Chicago's City Council even though Asian Americans represent 4.57 % of the state population.

IndiaNewsweekly
Post
Mission Statement
To empower the Indian Diaspora and make their voice strong and effective in countries of their adoption. RJ Media conglomerate
offers a credible, professional and complete package of news, opinion, entertainment, networking and information.

Publisher’s Diary

T

he big debate in Washington DC currently on is whether or not the US
should cut funding to countries which have traditionally been considered
as allies.
It wouldn't be hard to decide if one were to go by the example of Pakistan or
Egypt. Over a billion dollars a year in aid for the last 30 years given to Egypt
bought the 'loyalty' of a dictator (contrary to American values) but could not buy
'freedom' for Egyptians (which would have been in tune with those values).
Similarly, Pakistan has been enjoying billions in aid from the US but the US
is not even sure of that country's sincerity to its interests.
Now, Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul is seeking a vote in the House to stop
US funding to Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Pakistan.
"Stop buying friends overseas, save $6 billion!" is Paul's slogan. He says:
"Borrowing money from China - or printing it out of thin air - to hand out
overseas in [an] attempt to purchase friends has been a failing foreign policy."
Then there is this argument put forth by Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman that
such foreign funding is just about 1% of the US budget, and that it would be
detrimental to US national security if it were to deny military aid to allies that help
in the fight against terrorism, protect essential sea lanes, provide safe ports for
American troops and deliver intelligence in real time.
While aid for needy nations is an obligation, I find America's long held policy
of literally buying allies foolishly arrogant, because what it has ended up doing
is only making the political and military leadership of those countries richer
while impoverishing their people; and for all that, is not even safe from the
security threats emanating from those very countries.
So, what should Obama do? For now, he could perhaps restore the $2.5
billion budget cut for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and revoke the proposal of $3.1 billion aid to Pakistan. That would be a fair deal to the
poor - both in America and Pakistan.

Travel:
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer capital of the
state of Jammu and Kashmir and is the
pride of the beautiful valley of Kashmir.

29

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

India Post

5

6

Cover/Top Stories

India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

Clinton assures help to TVU students
SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service

NEW YORK: US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton has promised
to help the Indian students affected by the closing down of the
dubious Tri Valley University in
California.
In a lengthy telephonic conversation that Indian Minister for
External Affairs S.M. Krishna had
from New York with her, Secretary
Clinton assured of all help and
agreed to personally intervene
and sort out the matter.
The plight of the Indian students of the sham Tri Valley University that was shut down by the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities last
month was one of the major issues that featured during Minister Krishna's brief visit to New
York last week.
The Minister, who was officially here to address a UN Security Council meet, brought up the
subject in his telephonic conversation with Secretary Clinton on
Feb 13, and sought her personal
intervention in the matter with a
view to ensuring that the interests
of the students are protected and
their future is not jeopardized.
Following the telephonic conversation between the External
Affairs Minister and the US Secretary of State, Secretary Clinton
also met with Indian Ambassador
Meera Shankar in Washington DC
on Feb 14 to discuss the matter in
detail.
Students, TANA delegation meet
Krishna

dents' situation. India's Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao and Indian Consul General in NY Prabhu
Dayal were also present at the
meeting.
TANA Secretary Mohan
Nannapaneni, Vasu Chinna, and
Jai Kureti facilitated the meeting
for the benefit of the students
who could directly converse with
the minister who allocated over 2
hours from his busy schedule after his speech at the UNSC.

After patiently listening
to all the students he
expressed concern at
the continued uncertainty and assured the
students that Government of India would
request the Department of Homeland
Security to expedite
the cases of the
affected students
TVU students living in the New
York, Connecticut, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland and surrounding areas were part of this
meeting. These students hailed
from different parts of India including Pune and Mumbai in
Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh,
contrary to popular belief that all
the affected students are only

der the impression that the students' issues were mostly resolved.
After patiently listening to all
the students he expressed concern at the continued uncertainty
and assured the students that
Government of India would request the Department of Homeland Security to expedite the cases
of the affected students.
In a letter handed over to the
minister, TANA President Jayaram

File photo of External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna with his United States
counterpart, Hillary Rodham Clinton

Komati expressed concern at the
unresolved status of the students
and requested him and his ministry to provide assistance to the
students, so that they may return
to their classes and salvage the
rest of the semester.
Komati stated that if the current status quo continues the students would be unable to attend
classes for the rest of the school

A delegation of members of the
Telugu Association of North
America (TANA) and a group of
25 Tri Valley students met with
Minister Krishna at the New York
Palace Hotel in New York City on
Feb 13, to apprise him of the stu-

from Andhra.
The students took turns to explain each of their current situations in detail and the hardships
they are enduring as a result of
the closure of TVU.
Krishna said that he was un-

Government to intervene and seek
from the US government, at least
a temporary relief for them.
Speaking after the meeting,
Nannapaneni said that TANA
was glad to have facilitated the
in- person meeting between the
TVU students and the External
Affairs Minister. He stated TANA
has been at the forefront of the
efforts to help students from the
beginning of their nightmare.
ICE response to Embassy

year and would also have to spend
a lot of money for legal issues.
The delegation requested the
minister to provide a paid legal
assistance to the students as most
of them could not afford it. The
students requested the Indian

Indian Ambassador Meera
Shankar had earlier raised this issue with the Director of ICE emphasizing that innocent students
should not suffer and had been
assured that the US authorities
would handle this with good
judgment and common sense.

The problem had also been raised
with the State Department and
the Department of Homeland Security.
In response to the Embassy's
efforts, the ICE had put up guidelines on Jan 28 and Feb 8 for the
Tri-Valley students on their
website at http://www.ice.gov/
sevis/tri-valley-110118.htm.
Broadly, the affected students
have been advised to call the Student Exchange Visitors Program
(SEVP) and provide their specific
details. The website also indicates that SEVP will provide options to the students, including
the option to depart from the
United States without an otherwise possibly applicable bar to
re-admission in the future.
In response to questions, ICE
has further clarified that among
the options available to the affected students are:
Students who contact SEVP
representatives will be advised
that they have three options:
(i) Report to ICE to be processed
for voluntary departure from the
United States. This option allows
them to leave under their own power
on a day of their choosing, to remain in the United States without
fear of being arrested while waiting
to depart, and keeps their immigration history clean.
(ii) Depart the United States on
their own;
(iii) File for re-instatement with
US Citizenship and Immigration
Services

India and United States strategic
dialogue on April 6
WASHINGTON: India and the
US would hold the second round
of their Strategic Dialogue in New
Delhi on April six during which
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
would lead the American side,
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao
has announced here.
"This time the meeting would
take place in New Delhi on April
6. Secretary Hillary Clinton would
travel to India for that meeting,"
Rao told reporters last evening at
the end of her three-day US visit.
Rao, who was basically here for
foreign office consultations, discussed on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, besides
the developments in Egypt.
She had a lengthy meeting with
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, besides having called on Secretary
Clinton at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.
Rao briefed the US officials on
the recent Indo-Pak talks in
Bhutan and New Delhi's perspec-

tive on it.
Rao said she and Burns discussed the steps being taken by
the two nations on implementation
of the decisions reached during the
India visit of US President Barack
Obama in November last year.
They also prepared the ground
work for the second Strategic Dialogue between the two countries.
"I had a very useful meeting
with the Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton," Rao said.
"This visit also afforded the
opportunity to take stock of the
regional and global situation. The
situation in the region has been
an object of focus in our discussion, previously also with the
United States," she said.
Rao also met a number of top
officials from the Departments of
Defence and Commerce; and the
National Security Council at the
White House. She also met Senators Richard Lugar and Mark
Warner and Congressman Howard
Berman at the Capitol Hill.-PTI

Top Stories

February 25, 2011

India Post

7

www.indiapost.com

G4 call for UNSC reform and expansion

India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna speaking at G4 meeting in New York, flanked by the other three ministers, (from left) Takeaki Matsumoto, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Guido
Westerwelle, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany and Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of External Relations of Brazil. The group of four met in New York on February 11, for the second
time in the last six months, to exchange views on Security Council reform.-Pic Mohammed Jaffer-SnapsIndia
India Post News Service

NEW YORK: A high-level ministerial meeting of the G4 countries - India, Japan, Brazil and Germany - concluded with the determination to achieve at the earliest, an expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent membership categories of the Security
Council.
Towards this goal, the G4 countries reaffirmed their readiness to
reach out to other countries and
to work in close cooperation with
them in a spirit of flexibility.
The Minister of External Affairs
of India S. M. Krishna; the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Germany Guido Westerwelle;
the Minister of External Relations
of Brazil Antonio de Aguiar
Patriota; and the State Secretary
for Foreign Affairs of Japan
Takeaki Matsumoto met in New
York on Feb 11, for the second time
in the last six months, to exchange
views on Security Council reform.
The G4 meeting took place on
the sidelines of a major UN Security Council meet on peace, security and development, which the
Indian minister addressed the
same morning.
India became a non-permanent
member of the UNSC Jan 1, returning to the high table after a gap of
19 years; and is a contender for a
permanent seat in a reformed, expanded UNSC.
The high-level meeting has
been convened by Brazil, which
is the president of the council for
the month of February.
The Ministers agreed that as
democracies with shared political
values including respect for the
Rule of law, respect for human
rights and a commitment to
multilateralism, the G4 countries
hold a number of common positions on the major contemporary

challenges to international peace and security. They noted with
satisfaction the important contributions being made by their
countries to the working of the Security
Council and to the
maintenance of international peace and
security.

The Ministers agreed that as democracies
with shared political values including
respect for the Rule of law, respect for
human rights and a commitment to
multilateralism, the G4 countries hold a
number of common positions on the major
contemporary challenges to
international peace and security

They reaffirmed
their willingness and
capacity to take on
major responsibilities
in this regard. They
stated that the international system
would benefit from
the expansion of the
UN Security Council,
which would ensure
that the Council is

truly reflective of current geopolitical realities and make it stronger, more representative, legitimate, effective and efficient.
In this context, the G4 countries reiterated their commitments
as aspiring new permanent members of the UN Security Council,
as well as their support for each
other's candidatures.
The G4 countries also reaffirmed their view of the importance
of Africa to be represented in the
permanent membership of an enlarged Council. They also reconfirmed the need for additional nonpermanent members and improvement in the Council's working
methods.
The Ministers expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the
President of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss and Ambassador Zahir Tanin, the Chair of the
intergovernmental negotiations,
for their facilitating role in the negotiations among the Member
States. They stressed that the
ongoing intergovernmental negotiations made it clear that the overwhelming majority of the Member
States support expansion in both
the permanent and non-permanent categories of the Security
Council membership, as well as
increased representation of developing countries in both.
The Ministers further recognized that there is widespread support for a Member-States driven
initiative to take the process of the
much-needed reform of the Security Council towards a concrete
outcome in the current session of
the UN General Assembly.
They, therefore, agreed to
press ahead, with all necessary
steps to achieve at the earliest an
expansion in both the permanent
and non-permanent membership
categories of the Security Council.

8

Top Stories

India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

I am not quitting, have a job to do: Manmohan
NEW DELHI: Admitting that
"some compromises" have to be
made in managing a coalition,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
has declared that his government
will bring the wrongdoers in scams
to book but ruled out quitting from
his post.
He asserted that his government was not lameduck nor was
he a lameduck Prime Minister and
it was a functioning government
that would go after the scamsters.
On the 2G scam involving
former Telecom Minister A Raja,
the Prime Minister said concerns
were expressed but he did not
press for auction after Ministries
of Telecom and Finance agreed to
go by the prevailing practice of
not auctioning the spectrum
which was also supported by expert bodies like TRAI and Telecom
Commission.
About re-induction of Raja despite complaints, he said in a coalition, it was not in his hands about
whom to be inducted from a coalition partner. "You cannot suggest
your preferences and you have to
go by the choice of the leader of
the party.
"Raja and Dayanidhi Maran
were the choice of DMK and I had
no reason to feel that anything
seriously wrong has been done. I
did not feel that I had the authority to object to Raja's entry although complaints were coming
from some companies who were
not benefited and some who had
not benefited adequately. I was
not in a position to make up my
mind about Raja", he said.
The Prime Minister said "in a
coalition, there is a coalition
dharma. Obviously, things are not
entirely what I would like them to
be. I never felt like resigning as I
have a job to do.
"The country voted our party
to be the leader of the UPA coalition and we have lot of unfinished
tasks to be accomplished. I have
never felt of giving up halfway. I
will stay the course. I never
thought of resigning," he told television editors at an interaction
here.
During the 70-minute interaction, the Prime Minister fielded a
wide range of questions covering
mainly issues of corruption including the ISRO's deal on S-band
spectrum, governance deficit,
economy and Parliament standoff.
Singh also made it clear that he
was not afraid of facing any Parliamentary committee including a
JPC on 2G scam.
He said all efforts were being
made and talks were on with opposition to ensure smooth budget session of Parliament.
"I don't say I have never made
any mistake. But I am not that big

a culprit as being made out to be,"
he said in reply to a question
whether he would accept personal
responsibility as head of the government for whatever has happened in the government.
"I am conscious about personal responsibility. I feel about
it. My compulsion is that I have

to bear a lot because we cannot
have elections in every six
months. Some compromises have
to be made in managing a coalition. A coalition government has
to be viewed in a context that no
single party has emerged to rule
by itself," he said.
In his opening remarks, the

Prime Minister referred to the media expose of various scams including the Commonwealth
Games, ISRO deal, Adarsh housing affairs but asked the media not
to give an image that India was a
scam-driven country and nothing
good was happening.
He said that such an image

I am not afraid of appearing
before JPC: PM
NEW DELHI: In the clearest
signal that Government is ready
for a Joint Parliament Committee
probe on the 2G scam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said
that he is not afraid of appearing
before the panel.
Asked during an interaction
with television editors whether
the government would agree to
the JPC on 2G scam, he said "full
efforts are being undertaken to see
that some way will be found (to
ensure that Parliament functions).
I hope it will happen."
He also dismissed impression
that he was blocking agreement
on the issue between the government and the opposition as he did
not want to appear before a JPC.
"My position is that I am not
afraid of appearing before any
committee. The PAC is a joint parliamentary committee, presided
over a senior member of the opposition," he said.
Singh had offered to appear

before the PAC looking into various aspects of the 2G scam. The
panel is headed by senior BJP
leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
"I am fully prepared to appear
before any committee including a
JPC. It is entirely wrong for an impression to go that I was the one
blocking it because I am afraid of
appearing before it. My conduct
as a Prime Minister must be like
Caesar's wife should be above

The Prime Minister also
referred to his earlier
remarks made during
the Congress Plenary
in December last year
in which he had offered to appear before
the PAC if required

suspicion. I am quite prepared to
appear before any committee that
may go into this", he said.
The remarks come a week after
the all party meeting chaired by
UPA's trouble shooter Pranab
Mukherjee on February 8 in which
broad indications emerged on the
possibility of formation of a JPC
to look into the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
The winter session of Parliament
was a complete washout with the
opposition insisting on a JPC and
the government unwilling to relent.
The Prime Minister also referred to his earlier remarks made
during the Congress Plenary in
December last year in which he
had offered to appear before the
PAC if required.
"The PAC is the giant committee presided over by a very senior leader of the opposition and
I have publicly declared my willingness to appear before it," Singh
said.-PTI

BJP rejects PM's contention on
'Gujarat minister'
AHMEDABAD: The BJP has
rejected
Prime
Minister
Manmohan Singh's contention
that the party was taking up issues against UPA government
because of the arrest of former
Gujarat minister Amit Shah in
Sohrabuddin fake encounter case,
and said the entire opposition was
raising these issues.
"There was an expectation and
hope that Prime Minister's address to the media will provide
some new directions on the issues
of corruption and inflation. Instead, he pleaded his innocence
and helplessness," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told
reporters here.
In reply to a question about the
Prime Minister's remarks referring
to Shah, Javadekar said, "Not just
BJP, but entire opposition was rais-

ing issues of scams and demanding JPC. Some of the allies of the
present UPA government have supported the demand of formation of
JPC to probe 2G spectrum scam."
"Gujarat's fight (on misuse of
CBI) is for justice, and we are confident of winning it. People of
Gujarat know that ruling government here is a symbol of progress
and not of destruction," Javadekar
said.
The Prime Minister, during his
interaction with journalists this
morning, had said, "Opposition
parties and especially BJP has
taken a very hostile attitude towards us.
I cannot mention it in public...
Because you have taken a particular
decision against a minister who was
in Gujarat. You reverse it or face it".
Shah, who was Minister of

state for home in Modi government, was arrested by the CBI in
Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case and is now out on bail. .
The impression that the Prime
Minister's press conference gave
was "Prime Minister is in office
but not in power", he said.
The BJP leader demanded that
as the Prime Minister has now
agreed to appear before the JPC,
the government should immediately announce the appointment
of the committee.
He further alleged that the investigations in all the scams were
an attempt to cover up. "In the
Commonwealth Games corruption
case two officials were arrested,
but they were later released on
bail as no charge-sheet has been
filed. This is an attempt of cover
up".-PTI

would weaken the self-confidence
of the people and it would not be
in the interest of the country.
"I wish to assure the country
as a whole that our government is
dead serious about bringing to
book all wrongdoers regardless of
the position they occupy," he
said.
To a question what was his biggest regret in UPA-II, Singh said
that "these irregularities have happened. They should not have
happened. I am not very happy
about these developments".
He virtually disagreed with the
CAG calculations on the loss figure in the 2G scam saying the CAG
itself had called it presumptive.
There are various methods of
computing the figures and went
on to question whether the Rs
80,000 crore being spent on
foodgrain subsidy, Rs 60,000
crore on fertilisers and subsidy on
kerosene could be called as loss.
He was replying to a question
whether he agreed with Telecom
minister Kapil Sibal's description
of zero loss in the 2G scam.
To a question on Home Minister P Chidambaram's comments on
governance deficit, he admitted,
"obviously, some events have
brought out the weaknesses in
governance and processes, I think
we need to improve the quality of
governance. But that does not
divide me and other members of
the government."
He rejected a questioner's suggestion that his government was
facing double-incumbency of attacks from the opposition and
within the party.
"I do not get that impression
(party not backing him).
In a democracy, there are views
and discussions and when decisions are taken, our party stands
united in support of the government.
"I would like a cohesive party
to support the government but I
am not saying it is not happening," he said.
To a specific question whether
he would be ready to be projected
as Prime Ministerial candidate in
the next elections, Singh said "it
is too early. We still have a long
way to go. I have to complete this
term. It is too premature to speculate who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate."
He was asked whether he was
feeling bad as certain embarrassing things were happening which
were not in tune with his nature.
"I have looked upon life as a
learning and re-learning process.
It has been a great educational
experience from civil service to
academic world to political world.
This process of learning, I relish
that", he replied.

Top Stories

February 25, 2011

India Post

9

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CCS annuls controversial Antrix-Devas deal
NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of an uproar, the Government
has scrapped the deal ISRO's
commercial arm Antrix had struck
with a private company for lease
of premium space segment, saying it was not in the country's strategic interest.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), at a meeting chaired
by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, decided to annul the contract Antrix had entered into with
Devas Multimedia under which it
was to lease out 90 per cent transponders on two of ISRO's satellites GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A.
Under the agreement signed in
January 2005, Devas was to lease
transponder capacity from the
two satellites at a cost of USD 300
million (approximately Rs 1350
crore) spread over 12 years.
Some estimates said the deal
was heavily undervalued, which
triggered an uproar with the BJPled opposition attacking Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh who
is directly in charge of the Department of Space.
"The Agreement for the lease
of space segment capacity on
ISRO/Antrix S-Band spacecraft

by Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.
entered into between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia
Pvt. Ltd. on 28th January, 2005
shall be annulled forthwith," announced Law Minister Veerappa
Moily after the meeting.
He said when the question of
strategic requirement arises, the

Some estimates said
the deal was heavily
undervalued, which
triggered an uproar
with the BJP-led opposition attacking Prime
Minister Manmohan
Singh who is directly in
charge of the Department of Space
government cannot give S-band
spectrum even to Antrix for commercial use.
"We have thoroughly examined this matter and ultimately we
have come to the conclusion that

under provisions of the agreement and the law governing that,
it can be annulled," he said when
asked whether the impact of the
decision was discussed by the
CCS.
Devas Multimedia had threatened to move court if the government took any unilateral decision
to terminate the deal.
"Even if they go to court, they
are not likely to succeed," Moily
said when asked whether the government was ready to face the legal challenges put up by Devas.
After news reports about the
possible revenue loss appeared,
the Government and ISRO said
the project was already under review and action has been initiated
for termination of the contract.
The Prime Minister said that
the deal had never been
operationalised and rejected
suggestions that his office had
held "backroom" talks with
Devas after the Space
Commission's recommendation
to scrap the deal.
He had said that if there has
been delay in scrapping the deal,
this has been "only procedural".
A brief official statement said

there has been an increased demand for allocation of spectrum
for national needs, including for
the needs of defense, para-military forces, railways and other
public utility services as well as
for societal needs.
"Having regard to the needs
of the country's strategic require-

The Agreement provided for an up-front
capacity reservation
fee of USD 20 million
per satellite and annual lease charges
starting at USD 9 million
per satellite. There are
also penalty charges
to be paid by Antrix
ments, the Government will not
be able to provide orbit slot in S
band to Antrix for commercial activities, including for those
which are the subject matter of
existing contractual obligations

for S band," Moily said reading
out from the statement.
He said resorting to the force
majeure clause of the agreement
was one of the options before the
government to cancel the deal.
The Law Ministry, in its opinion given on June 18, 2008, had
made it clear that in event of termination Antrix shall be required
to reimburse Devas all the
upfront capacity reservation fees
and corresponding service taxes
received till that date.
The Agreement provided for
an up-front capacity reservation
fee of USD 20 million per satellite
and annual lease charges starting at USD 9 million per satellite.
There are also penalty charges
to be paid by Antrix in case of
late delivery of satellite or performance failures/service interruptions.
Devas has so far made a payment of Rs 58.37 crore as upfront
capacity reservation fee for the
two satellites.
The launch of GSAT 6 has already
been delayed by at least two years
and ISRO Chairman K
Radhakrishnan had said that the satellite was yet to be integrated. -PTI

Bryan Adams' Delhi concert
cancelled
NEW DELHI: In a disappointment for Bryan Adams' fans, the
Canadian rock star's muchawaited concert in Delhi was
cancelled after police refused
permission for it over security
concerns.
The sold-out concert, which
was scheduled for this evening,
was called off after the Delhi police said the location for the
show in the NSIC exhibition
grounds in Okhla industrial area
of south east Delhi was not suitable for it.
The organisers of the show
said that unexpected rains
coupled with the overwhelming
public response for the show
had made the venue "unsafe".
However, they said that the
singer was keen to perform in
New Delhi and a new date and
venue was being worked out.
"The organisers are working
towards finalising an alternate
venue and date to re-schedule
the Bryan Adams concert in
New Delhi since public safety is
a priority," the organisers said.
The 52-year-old singer of the
'Summer of 69' hit, who has sold
nearly 70 million albums and 30
million singles worldwide, has al-

ready performed in Bangalore
and Mumbai.
Adams is also scheduled to
hold a concert in Hyderabad tomorrow before he flies to Dhaka
and then Kathmandu.

According to the
official, the objection
was mainly due to
the organisers selling
more tickets than the
capacity of the
ground which can
cater to only 6,000
people at a time.
"They have issued
VIP and complimentary passes alsoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Police, however, was not satisfied with the arrangements in Delhi
and did not give a green light for
the show.
"We have denied permission for
the concert because of security

concerns. The place chosen to
organise the concert is not suitable for this kind of a programme,"
a senior police official said.
According to the official, the
objection was mainly due to the
organisers selling more tickets
than the capacity of the ground
which can cater to only 6,000
people at a time.
"They have issued VIP and
complimentary passes also.
There was no traffic plan despite the fact that the show was
to be held on a working day,"
the official said.
The official said police had informed the organisers about the
denial of permission on February 10 itself.
The official ticketing partner
for the event KyaZoonga asked
people who had booked tickets
online and through retail outlets
to "not go to the NSIC venue to
pick up your tickets".
It also assured that in case
the customers choose not to attend the rescheduled concert,
their tickets will be refunded.
It said that besides the rescheduled dates, the details of
refunds and ticket exchanges
will also be announced later. -PTI

Renowned singer Bryan Adams performing during a live in concert
at HICC in Hyderabad

Top Stories

10 India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

2G spectrum scam: CBI confronts Ambani and Raja
NEW DELHI: It was face-toface confrontation between
ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani and
former Telecom Minister A Raja at
CBI headquarters over the issue
of Dual Technology permit to
RCom and its alleged association
with Swan Telecom.
The investigators repeatedly
questioned the duo over the equity issues of Swan telecom for
nearly an hour but both remained

"non-cooperative" and stuck to
their stand, sources privy to the
investigations said.
The questions pertained to
whether Reliance Communication
directly or through its subsidiary
held more than 10 per cent equity,
a threshold for cross-holding in
two services providers in the
same circle, the sources said.
Swan Telecom, in which Tiger
Traders Private Limited have 90.13

and Reliance Telecom Limited has
9.87 per cent equity share capital,
has been under the scanner over
alleged diversion of funds to
DMK-owned Kalaignar television.
Ambani, 51, was called to the
CBI headquarters for questioning
by the agency in connection with
the 2G Spectrum scam.
DB Realty group Managing
Director Shahid Usman Balwa,

Aus asked to be 'flexible' on
uranium sale to India
MELBOURNE: Making a
strong pitch for uranium sale to
India, a senior Australian minister has asked the Labor government to be "flexible" on the issue as the country is "not a
rogue state" and deserves special consideration.
"No one can suggest India
is a rogue state," Federal Resource Minister Martin
Ferguson said, while asking his
government to modernize its
policy of not supplying uranium to non-NPT States.
"I think this is something the
Labor Party has to think about:
there should be some flexibility
or discretion built into the national policy that enables Australia to handle the delicate
situation of India while at the
same time forcing full accountability in the use of uranium in
civilian power plants," he was
quoted as saying by Fairfax
media.
The ruling party's current
uranium sale policy needs to
allow "flexibility and discretion" when it comes to India,
said Ferguson, who last month

met External Affairs Minister S
M Krishna during his Australia
visit.
His statement feeds expectations that the Labor party will
hold a contentious debate at its

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No one can suggest
India is a rogue state,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Federal Resource
Minister Martin
Ferguson said. There
should be some flexibility or discretion built
into the national policy
that enables Australia
to handle the delicate
situation of India while
at the same time forcing full accountability
next national conference later this
year to consider reversing its
current uranium sale policy.
Ferguson said that he will not
ask Labor to open its ban on ura-

nium exports to countries outside the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), but rather recognize that India deserves special consideration.
"I accept (that our refusal to
export uranium) is a major concern in an otherwise close strategic relationship between Australia and India."
Any future uranium sale to
India would be accompanied by
a bilateral safeguards agreement
such as the one Australia negotiated with China in 2007, and
Canberra would want inspections on the ground.
The Minister's comments
came after a media report disclosed that a US cable passed
to the whistle-blower website
Wikileaks indicated that a
nuclear fuel deal with India was
being seen in the next three to
five years.
His remarks also came ahead of
an expected move by the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) to pass
a resolution supporting an expansion of uranium mining and endorsing a debate about nuclear power,
the report said. -PTI

On twitter, Omar prays for end
to destruction in J&K
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir
chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed his outrage on Twitter
over the killing of two children in
an accidental explosion of a shell
in Srinagar last night.
"God please please put an end
to all this death & destruction.
How many more graveyards do we
have to fill before someone says
ENOUGH (sic)", Omar said in a
post on the social networking
website.
A 10-year-old boy and his 8year-old sister were killed and
three other members of their fam-

ily were critically injured when a
shell accidentally exploded at their
house in Srinagar.
The two children had found
the unexploded shell from the debris of a house that was razed by
security forces during a gun battle
with Jaish-e-Mohammad militants
in Malroo area near Srinagar in
October last year.
Replying to the Tweets he received from his followers on the
website, Omar said, "It doesn't
matter who the hell the grenade
belonged to, all that matters is that
2 young lives have been snuffed

out much before their time (sic)".
The chief minister also
tweeted: "doesn't it bother you
how in every tragedy you are conditioned to blame the security
forces. What about LeT that created encounter".
He further said "I'm conditioned to call a spade a spade.
Try it some time, it's liberating".
In reply to another Tweet, Omar
said, "I'm well aware of that but
unless your CM is God himself/
herself there are somethings that
are beyond any human's control".
-PTI

promoter of Swan telecom, is already in the CBI custody.
According to the CAG, four
Companies including Reliance
Communications Ltd were provided CDMA based mobile service under Unified Access Service
license.
Based on the recommendations of TRAI, use of dual technology was permitted on October
17, 2007 and RCom is alleged to
have applied for the same even
before the announcement of the
policy.
Reliance Communication Ltd.
had complied with the requirements for permission to use dual
technology on October 19, 2007.
itself by depositing the non refundable entry fee of Rs 1,645
crore for 20 service areas through
Reliance Infocomm Ltd.

The CAG had said that acceptance of bank draft from Reliance
Infocomm Ltd (third party) on behalf of Reliance Communications
Ltd was not in order and showed
the hurry in which the entry fee
was deposited.
In a statement here, ADAG had
said, "during the course of his
weekly visit to New Delhi, Ambani
"met CBI officials to clarify ongoing issues, relating to telecom
matters for the years 2001 to
2010".
The ADAG statement said,
"Neither Reliance Telecom nor
RCOM nor any Reliance ADAG
individual, company or affiliate
held even a single share in Swan
Telecom Ltd at the time of grant
of the 2G license to them in January, 2008, or at any time thereafter". -PTI

Raja sent to Tihar Jail
under judicial custody

Former Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja being taken to Patiala House
court from CBI HQ in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Former Telecom
Minister A Raja, arrested for his
alleged role in 2G Spectrum allocation scam, was sent to Tihar
Jail by a Delhi court under 14days' judicial custody.
"The accused is remanded in
judicial custody till March 3,"
Special CBI judge O P Saini said.
The judge also directed the
Tihar Jail authorities to let the
former minister have access to
home-made food, besides his
medicines.
The court gave this direction
to the jail superintendent on a

plea made by Raja's counsel
Ramesh Gupta.
Raja was arrested on February 2 for his alleged role in 2G
spectrum allocation scam,
which, as per the CBI, has
caused a pecuniary loss of Rs
22,000 crore to the state exchequer.
The former minister is alleged
to have manipulated rules to favor some telecom companies including Swan Telecom and
Unitech Private Limited in allocation of spectrum at throwaway
prices. -PTI

Top Stories

February 25, 2011

India Post

11

www.indiapost.com

Marc Grossman to be US special envoy to Af-Pak
WASHINGTON:
Marc
Grossman, former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs,
is expected to replace the late Richard Holbrooke as Obama
Administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The post has been vacant since
Richard Holbrooke, 68, who was
the Special US Representative for
Pakistan and Afghanistan for two
years, died suddenly last December.
Clinton met Grossman at the
State Department.
"Retired diplomat Marc
Grossman is expected to take over
as the administration is facing a
crucial year for its war strategy in
Afghanistan, where it plans to
begin US troop withdrawals this
summer and to move toward a
political settlement including negotiations with the Taliban before the end of 2011," the Washington Post said.
Grossman, who spent time at
the US Embassy in Islamabad in
late 70s, at present is the vice
president of the Cohen Group,

headed by the former Defence
Secretary William Cohen. The
group has several clients with
contracts in South Asia.

after Islamabad refused to grant
diplomatic immunity to an American official facing murder
charges in the country.

Grossman, who spent
time at the US Embassy
in Islamabad in late
70s, at present is the
vice president of the
Cohen Group, headed
by the former Defence
Secretary William
Cohen. The group has
several clients with
contracts in South Asia

Marc
Grossman

Grossman's appointment as
Obama Administration's point
man for Afghanistan and Pakistan comes at a time when the
US has suspended high-level
official contacts with Pakistan

During his nearly three-decade of service in the State Department, Grossman served as
assistant secretary of state for
Europe and ambassador to Turkey. He retired as the Under Sec-

Pak nuclear arsenal unlikely
to shift power balance
WASHINGTON: Pakistan's
jump of its nuclear arsenal from
60 to 110 warheads is unlikely to
shift the balance of power with
India but poses a graver risk of
these weapons landing into the
hands of terror groups, US security experts have warned.
"Pakistan's jump from an estimated 60 to 110 nuclear weapons
is unlikely to shift the balance of
power vis a vis India," said
Alexander H Rothman and
Lawrence J Korb from the Centre
for American Progress in their
analysis of the recent news reports that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
"Pakistan's entry into the
"nuclear 100 club" does little to
change the strategic situation in
South Asia, nor does this determined pursuit of nuclear weapons
signal a major policy shift in Pakistani behavior," they said.
In fact, Pakistan's nuclear
buildup is unlikely to affect US,
Pakistani, or global security in the
short term.
Instead, Pakistan's growing
nuclear stockpile is simply the latest reminder of a problem of which
experts and policymakers have
been long aware: The outdated
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) has become increasingly
ineffective at combating proliferation in the twenty-first century,

and the international consensus
and political will necessary to update the treaty remain out of sight,
they wrote.
The jump to 110 weapons may
put Pakistan's arsenal slightly
ahead of India's in numerical
terms, it does not increase the effectiveness of Pakistan's deterrent, it said.
"In fact, Pakistan's focus on

While Pakistan cannot
match the strength of
India's economy or its
conventional military
capabilities, its nuclear
arsenal provides an
opportunity for
Pakistan to be
one-up India
nuclear buildup appears unlikely
to improve the country's security
in any way. While relations between Pakistan and India are far
from cordial, the most immediate
threats to Pakistani stability are
domestic," they said.
"Heavily reliant on foreign aid,
Pakistan faces severe economic
problems as well as an armed, ex-

retary of State for Political Affairs in 2005.
During the Carter Administration, Grossman served as

tremist insurgency. Additional
nuclear weapons are unlikely to
help the Pakistani government
solve either of these internal problems - particularly considering the
fact it's almost impossible to think
of a situation in which it makes
sense for a government to use
nuclear weapons domestically,"
the article said.
Terrence P Smith of the Centre
for Strategic and International
Studies speculates that for Pakistan, nuclear weapons have become a "psychological equalizer."
"That is, while Pakistan cannot
match the strength of India's
economy or its conventional military capabilities, its nuclear arsenal provides an opportunity for
Pakistan to be one-up India, even
if this victory provides negligible
security benefits," the article said.
When viewed as part of a larger
trend of nuclear buildup, however,
Pakistan's jump from 60 to 110
warheads becomes more worrisome.
"In the long run, the security
of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and
weapons-usable material presents
a major national security issue for
the United States," it said adding
that Pakistan has a history as
ground zero for the illicit sharing
of nuclear technology, most significantly through the rogue A Q
Khan network.-PTI

Deputy Special Adviser to Carter
and in several capacities for the
Bureau of Near Eastern and
South Asian Affairs.
His other overseas assignments include tours as a politi-

cal officer at the US Mission to
NATO and in Islamabad.
A career foreign service officer since 1976, Grossman has a
BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and M.Sc.
in International Relations from
London School of Economics
and Political Science.
"The key issues at my first diplomatic post in Islamabad, Pakistan in 1977 were America's competition with the Soviet Union,
Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, and violence in Afghanistan and Iran," Grossman wrote
in the October 2010 issue of
American Diplomacy.
"But American diplomacy
there also focused on the connection between the lack of political and economic development in Pakistan and issues of
what we would now call larger
'human security'. When I went
to visit one of Pakistan's main
political opposition figures, then
under house arrest, he told me that
there was one thing he admired
most about the United States," he
said. -PTI

Mid East countries ripe for
popular revolt: US report
NEW YORK: A wide arc of pressing their people and small
countries in the Middle East from protests by people already surfacYemen to Bahrain were ripe for ing.
popular revolt, unless sweeping
"Whether it was Yemen or other
political changes were made, a re- countries in the region, you saw a
port ordered by US President has set of trends," said another offiwarned.
cial, who described the trend as
Egypt, which witnessed a po- "real prescription for trouble.
litical turmoil leading to the top"The trend included - a big
pling of 30-year-old regime of youth population, threadbare
strongman Hosni Mubarak was education systems, stagnant
identified as a flash point for the economies and new social netregion by the report which wanted work technologies like Facebook
US to push for political changes and Twitter."
in the region.
The officials said that the reThe report known as
Presidential study directive identified the Egypt, which witnessed a politinew flash points postcal turmoil leading to the topEgypt and asked for
proposals on how US pling of 30-year-old regime of
could push for political strongman Hosni Mubarak was
changes in countries
with autocratic rulers, identified as a flash point for the
who are also valuable region by the report
allies of America, New
York Times reported.
"There's no question Egypt port focused on how to balance
was very much on the mind of the American strategic interests and
president," said a senior official the desire to avert broader instawho helped draft the report and bility against the democratic dewho spoke on condition of ano- mands of the protesters.
nymity to discuss its findings.
"We really pushed the question
"You had all the unknowns cre- of who was taking the lead in reated by Egypt's succession pic- form," said an official.
ture, and Egypt is the anchor of
"Would pushing reform harm
the region," he added.
relations with the Egyptian miliThe report was ordered in the tary? Doesn't the military have an
backdrop of Mideast leaders re- interest in reform?" -PTI

Top Stories

12 India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

Qureshi's political fate uncertain as PPP leaders gun for him
ISLAMABAD: A question
mark hangs over the future of
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, till recently Pakistan's Foreign Minister who was scheduled to travel
to India for talks by June, with the
leadership of the ruling PPP sharply
attacking him for "hatching conspiracies" against the party.
Qureshi was shunted out of
the Foreign Office and given the
Water and Power portfolio in the
downsizing and reshuffle of the
Pakistani cabinet but unhappy
over the change the 54-year-old
PPP leader decided not to attend
the swearing in ceremony.
Media reports suggested that
his strong views against granting immunity to the US official arrested for gunning down two men
in Lahore had not gone down well
with the PPP leadership.
Following an interview he
gave to a newspaper strongly
suggesting that US official
Raymond Davis was not eligible
for diplomatic immunity, the PPP
has stepped up its tirade against
the former foreign minister.
Qureshi has "no future" in the
PPP and "serious disciplinary action will be taken against him for
violating party discipline and humiliating its leadership", PPP
spokesperson Fauzia Wahab told
the Dawn newspaper.
Wahab said Qureshi had
"ditched the party leadership and
it was not the first time he had done
so".
She said Qureshi's role as Foreign Minister over the past three
years was questionable and that

he did not support President Asif
Ali Zardari when he faced criticism
in the media over his foreign trips.
Stung by the criticism from
within his party ranks, Qureshi
said he was heart-broken and
pleaded for the party to make the
reasons for divesting him of the
key portfolio of the foreign minis-

To make matters worse, Qureshi,
in an interview to the News daily
said that as per the records of the
Foreign Office and experts, he was
of the view that Davis could not
be granted diplomatic immunity.
Reacting to his statements, Information and Broadcasting Minister Awan said he should not be

assign a responsibility to a party
member but Qureshi was not ready
to accept a change in his portfolio,
she said.
Asked whether Qureshi had differences with the party on the issue of arrested US official
Raymond Davis, Wahab said, "If
he had a problem over the issue he

Qureshi was shunted
out of the Foreign
Office and given the
Water and Power
portfolio in the reshuffle of the Pakistani
cabinet but unhappy
over the change the
54-year-old PPP
leader decided not
to attend the swearing in ceremony
Shah Mahmood Qureshi

ter to be made known.
"My heart is broken. I have
gone and pleaded with the leadership. I have asked please, please
tell me why I am not being given
the portfolio of the foreign minister? I have asked them what is my
mistake? I need to know. I am not
above scrutiny, but what wrong did
I commit?" Qureshi asked.
Several senior PPP leaders, including party secretary general
Raja Parvez Ashraf and Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan
launched a scathing attack on
Qureshi.

discussing the issue, that is sub
judice, before the media, instead
of discussing it within the party. .
Qureshi was Pakistan's foreign
minister since 2008 and was scheduled to visit India by June this year
for the next round of the Indo-Pak
Foreign Ministers' meeting.
Despite all of Qureshi's "past
acts, the party leadership had decided to include him in the new
cabinet" but Qureshi created a crisis just 25 minutes before the oathtaking ceremony at the Presidency,
Awan said.
It is the PPP leadership's job to

should have resigned earlier."
Ashraf compared Qureshi to
late PPP leader Farooq Leghari,
who had during his tenure as President sacked the government of
slain former premier Benazir Bhutto
in 1996.
He also accused Qureshi of joining the "band wagon of political
actors hatching conspiracies
against the party leadership".
Awan, considered close to PPP
chief Zardari's camp, said Qureshi
had not expressed his concerns
when he was Foreign Minister and
his remarks about Davis were "not

in favour of the country".
Awan also sought to question
why Qureshi had expressed his
differences with the government
after a court had issued an arrest
warrant for former President Pervez
Musharraf in connection with
Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
Presidential
spokesman
Farhatullah Babar has
confirmed to the media
that Qureshi met Zardari
but he refused to divulge details of the
meeting.
Babar described it as
a routine meeting of a
former minister with the
President and expressed ignorance
about statements by
other PPP leaders
against Qureshi.
Qureshi said he was
also "absolutely devastated" by criticism from
Information Minister
Awan, who had linked
his refusal to join the cabinet with
an arrest warrant issued by a court
against former President Pervez
Musharraf in connection with
Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
Awan has sought to imply that
Qureshi wants to "save"
Musharraf and that he is a "personal friend" of the former military
ruler.
"I cannot believe this. It is extremely sad that this is coming from
someone who was recently with
the (PML-Q). In fact, let the
records speak for themselves,"
Qureshi told The News daily. -PTI

Indo-Pak relationship largely unchanged: Clapper
WASHINGTON: Despite the
fact that leadership of both India
and Pakistan have expressed their
determination for talks with each
other, the relationship between
the two nations remains unchanged, according to a top US
intelligence official.
"India's ties to Pakistan are
largely unchanged. Both sides
have stated their willingness to
put all issues on the table and are
committed to another round of
talks at the foreign minister level
at a date to be determined," James
R Clapper, Director of National
Intelligence, said in his prepared
testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"Senior Indian officials continue to call for progress in the
prosecution of individuals
charged with the November 2008
attacks in Mumbai, and remain
concerned at the length of the
process taking place in Pakistan.
New Delhi, nevertheless, continues to underscore its desire for
peaceful and stable relations with

Islamabad," Clapper said.
India, he said, is pursuing a
robust foreign policy agenda,
working to enhance ties to East
and Southeast Asian nations, offering reciprocal visits with China,
and hosting high level engage-

UN Security Council, and US commitment to support Indian membership in the four international
export control regimes -- in a
phased manner and consistent
with maintaining the core principles of these regimes -- as India

James R Clapper

ments in New Delhi by the US,
French, and Russian Presidents in
the last months of 2010.
Indian officials welcomed, in
particular, the US endorsement of
an eventual seat for India on the

such as the G-20, East Asian Summit, and the climate change discussions in Mexico, Clapper said.
Indian officials, he said, have
welcomed the international
community's commitment to remain in Afghanistan until the end

India's open assistance programs provide only noncombat aid, although the Indian
media continues to discuss
whether the country should
also consider various capacity-building programs for the
Afghan security forces

takes steps toward full adoption
and implementation of the regimes' requirements, he said.
New Delhi, meanwhile, has
been working to deepen its engagement with multilateral fora

of 2014. New Delhi continues to
believe that a stable, friendly Afghanistan is crucial to Indian security.
Despite successful and attempted attacks on the official,

commercial, and non-governmental Indian presence in Afghanistan, the government believes it has a mandate, from both
the Indian and Afghan peoples,
to continue civilian assistance
programs and reconstruction efforts there.
India's open assistance programs provide only noncombat
aid, although the Indian media
continues to discuss whether the
country should also consider
various capacity-building programs for the Afghan security
forces as a means to bolster internal security, he said.
Clapper said India is closely
watching a variety of issues that
New Delhi believes will be of primary concern in 2011, to include
questions about whether or how
to reconcile Afghan Taliban, US,
and ISAF views about the current and future security situation
in Afghanistan, and developments in efforts to foster civil
society, a solid economy, and robust democratic processes.-PTI

Top Stories

February 25, 2011

India Post

13

www.indiapost.com

Radio tags removed from
three more Indian students
WASHINGTON: The US Immigration and Custom Enforcement
(ICE) has removed radio tags from
three more Indian students of the
now shut-down Tri Valley University (TVU) in California and also
returned their passports.
Susmita Gongulee Thomas, the
Consul General, Indian Consulate
San Francisco, said ICE have returned the passports of these
three students along with the two
others, from whom radio tags were
removed last week.
In all radio tags so far has been
removed from five of the 18 Indian students. These students
were taken to ICE by two immigration attorneys, Kalpana
Peddibhotla and Manpreet Gahra.
Encouraged by the positive
development, Thomas said 10
more students would be taken to
ICE next week by these two immigration attorneys and they are

very optimistic of the same positive outcome.
"Five of the 18 students are
now free of the radio tags. Students were feeling very badly
about. It was humiliating to go
around with these tags," Thomas

Thomas said community organizations in
the Bay area, especially the Telugu Association of North
America, have been
supporting these students in distress
told PTI.
The Consul General said, three
of the students who have radio
tags have gone to their own law-

yers, so she has no information
about them.
The two immigration attorneys
- Kalpana Peddibhotla and
Manpreet Gahra - are from the
South Asian Bar Association, who
in association with the Consulate
had held free legal aid camp for
the Tri Valley Students.
"Our primary concern and priority was to get these radio tags
removed," she said.
Thomas said community organizations in the Bay area, especially the Telugu Association of
North America, have been supporting these students in distress.
She urged other community organizations to come forward with
their resources to help these students.
The Consul General said the
TVU students are from various
parts of the country, not only from
Andhra Pradesh alone. -PTI

Pak court adjourns American's
case till March 14
LAHORE: American official
Raymond Davis arrested for
double murder may have to spend
at least three more weeks in custody with a Pakistani court putting
off to next month the case to decide his diplomatic status, escalating the tense standoff between the
two countries over the issue.
The Lahore High Court adjourned the case till March 14 after Deputy Attorney General
Naveed Inayat Malik, who represented the federal government at
the hearing, told its Chief Justice
Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry that Foreign
Ministry needed more time to submit a response on the diplomatic
status of Davis.

The US has insisted that 37year-old Davis has diplomatic immunity and demanded that he
should be released immediately.
"We believe that diplomatic
immunity (to Davis) is a fact. From
our standpoint, it is not a matter
in dispute. It's certainly not a matter that should be resolved by
courts in Pakistan," State Department spokesman P J Crowley said
in Washington.
Khwaja Haris, the Advocate
General of the Punjab government,
told the Lahore High Court that the
federal government alone could
determine whether Davis has diplomatic immunity. He argued that
the Vienna Convention does not

give blanket immunity to persons
involved in heinous crimes.
Davis, arrested on January 27
after he shot and killed two Pakistani men who he claimed were
trying to rob him, had been
charged for murder by police, he
remarked.
The American official claimed
that he had fired in self defense,
but this was rejected by police.
After hearing the arguments of
the lawyers for the federal and
provincial governments, Chief
Justice Chaudhry said: "How can
the court proceed further in the
case till the Foreign Office tells us
about his (Davis') diplomatic status?"-PTI

LeT has acquired lethal capabilities:
US intel chief
WASHINGTON: Concerned
that Pakistan based Lashkar-iTaiba is expanding horizons, a top
US security official has said the
terror group has acquired capabilities to launch a Mumbai-type
terrorist strike in Europe and other
parts of the world.
Any fresh strike by the group
in India or anywhere else would
hurt US national security interest
and its counter-terrorism interests
in the region, Michael Leiter, Director of the National Counter-ter-

rorism Center told lawmakers.
Testifying before the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence,
said Pak-based LeT has enough
capabilities to launch a Mumbaitype terrorist strike in Europe and
other parts of the world.
"What we have not yet seen is
a history of them doing so. We
are certainly concerned by some
indicators we see of them expanding their horizons beyond the region.
Certainly they have the capac-

ity -- it's a large organization," he
said.
The US intelligence chief comments came as a powerful lawmaker took the Pak's ISI to task
for not handing over to India,
those responsible for the Mumbai
terrorist attacks.
India has identified LeT operations commander Zakiur Rahman
Lakhvi along with others as the
plotters of the Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were
gunned down.

UK defends 1 billion
pound aid to India
LONDON: As an outcry blew year, our development partnerover Britain's decision to continue ship has an important role to
over 1 billion pounds in aid to New play." he added.
Delhi until 2015, the David
"It is completely unacceptable
Cameron government has de- to be giving aid to a country that
fended the move, saying India can afford to spend vast amounts
symbolises a development para- of money on nuclear weapons and
dox.
a space programme," ConservaThe vociferous tabloid press tive MP Philip Davies said.
led the criticism with headlines
"India's economy is growing at
such as 'Scandal of our 1b pounds a rate that we can only dream of.
aid to India' (Daily Express) and It is quite extraordinary to be giv'Our 1b pounds aid to India: A ing aid money to a country that
nation with three times as many could end up lending it back to
billionaires as we have' (Daily us," he added.
Mail).
Emma Boon, of the TaxPayers'
International development sec- Alliance, said: "India is one of the
retary Andrew Mitchell defended world's fastest-growing econothe aid on the ground
that India symbolised a
'development paradox' - â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Our development program is
it has a growing
in transition, but now is not the
economy and gives aid
to Africa, but also has time to end it completely. For
more poor than the en- the next four years, we will
tire sub-Saharan Africa.
He said British aid focus only on the poorest states
would henceforth focus in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
on three states: Orissa,
Bihar and Madhya
Pradesh.
mies so it is now hard to justify
A spokesman for the Depart- these huge aid payments from the
ment for International Develop- UK. At a time when we are making
ment said: "The coalition Govern- spending cuts at home, it is unfair
ment has announced that British to force taxpayers to pour another
aid to Russia and China will end. 1 billion pounds in aid, over the
India is different.
next four years, into a country
Our development program is in that has a space program.
transition, but now is not the time
"Much of this aid never
to end it completely. For the next reaches those who really need it
four years, we will focus only on and the Department for Internathe poorest states in India".
tional Development would do bet"We will not be in India forever. ter to focus on trying to prevent
But as part of the revitalised Brit- abuses of the aid they are already
ish relationship with India, follow- giving out, before promising
ing the PM's successful visit last more." -PTI

Ousted Egyptian President
reported ailing
CAIRO: Ousted Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak is reportedly "ailing and bedridden"
and cannot walk without help, local media reports confirming that
the toppled leader was still in a
holiday villa in the Red Sea resort
of Sharm al-Sheikh.
Egyptian daily 'Al-Masry AlYoum' reported that soon after
moving to the resort, the 82-yearold Mubarak who ruled Egypt for
30 years was gravely ill and
slipped into a coma.
But a pro-government newspaper denied the report but said the
leader was in severe psychological condition and was declining
treatment.
Mubarak is staying at a villa in

the grounds of the Maritim Jollie
Ville Hotel, owned by one of the
Egypt's leading businessman,
Hussein Sale, who is a close member of the ex-president's inner
circle.
The Egyptian President in
month's before the protest against
him started had been in Germany
for gall bladder treatment.
Britain's 'Daily Telegraph' quoting witnesses at the resort said,
that the former President may be
suffering from cancer.
It quoted Egypt's Ambassador
to Washington Sameh Shoukry as
saying that he had been informed
that the former President's health
had taken a turn for the worse. PTI

CHICAGO: Global Gayatri
Pariwar hosted Gurudev Acharya
Shri Ram Sharma's birth anniversary celebration as well as Vasant
Panchami program with great enthusiasm and a large presence of
devotees. The event took place on
Sunday February 13 from 10am to
2pm at Gayatri Shaktipeeth in Chicago.
The program started with Guru
Mantra and inspired Pragya songs
by Kusum Patel and Harsaben
Thakkar. They were accompanied
by Govindbhai Prajapati on tabla,
Anilbhai Patel on flute, a keyboard player and Gunvantbhai
Pandya and his wife Sakuben
Pandya as chorus singers.

COMMUNITY
ACROSS AMERICA

Demystifying
college
admission
process
Details on page 19

14 India Post

www.indiapost.com

February 25, 2011

Asian American population goes
up 39 percent in Illinois
SURENDRA ULLAL

Details on page 16

Vasant Panchami
celebrated at
Gayatri Mandir
SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: It was one of the
grandest celebrations of the Hindu
festival Vasant Panchami and the
100th birth anniversary of
Acharya Shri Ram Sharma, the
founder of All World Gayatri
Pariwar.
The celebration, a three-day
affair from February 6 to 8 was organized by Gayatri Gyan Mandir
in Itasca, a north side suburb of
Chicago. There was a sizeable participation from devotees across
Chicago land on all three days.
The young second generation Indians as well as children too were
seen in the Temple taking part in
the celebrations.
Details on page 17

IAC essay
contest in honor of
Dr Kalam
NISHA SUTARIA

Asian Americans in Illinois

CHICAGO: The Asian American
population of Illinois has grown to
586,934, according to U.S. Census
Bureau figures. This growth marks
a 39% increase since 2000.
There are 92,304 Asian Americans in DuPage County, making
them now 10% of the County's
total population.
These figures confirm that
Asian Americans have become
one of the fastest growing segments of the state's population,
while other races in Illinois have
seen an overall decline. The surge
in Asian Americans is also reflected at other levels of economic
and academic activities as many
Asian Americans have turned out
to be in forefront of business, educational and community organiza-

tions. However, many do feel that
this upswing is not really reflected
at the political level and this impacts on the representation of
problems at the level which matter

though Asian Americans represent 4.57 % of the state population. If Asians were proportionally
represented, there would be 5
Asian American representatives in

Will and Kane County experienced tremendous
growth, 177% and 145% respectively. Together,
they now house over 8% of the total Illinois Asian
American population, up from 4.35% in 2000
a lot.
Currently there are no Asian
American Congressional members, Illinois General Assembly
members, nor aldermen in
Chicago's City Council even

the House and 3 Asians in the
Senate. Through the upcoming
redistricting process, the Asian
American Institute and its partners
aim to empower the Asian Ameri-

can community through more equitable representation in Chicago
and Illinois as a whole.
Some of the more important
changes for Asian-Americans reflected by these numbers include:
• Twelve counties in Illinois experienced 100% or more Asian
population growth.
• Cook County notched a small
decline in as much as that it
housed around 61% of Illinois
Asian population in 2000, now
composes only 55% of the total
Asian American population.
• Will and Kane County experienced tremendous growth, 177%
and 145% respectively. Together,
they now house over 8% of the
total Illinois Asian American population, up from 4.35% in 2000.

Outsourcing of OCI/PIO cards announced
SURESH SHAH

CHICAGO: From the "People's
President" to the "Environment
Ambassador" of India, Dr APJ
Abdul Kalam, eleventh President
of India, has dedicated himself to
the advancement of education for
young people, particularly
through studying science.
In Dr Kalam's honor, the IndoAmerican Center (IAC), with the
cooperation of the Indo-American
Heritage Museum, has announced holding an essay contest
for current Illinois high school students that addresses Dr. Kalam's
concerns with science, the environment, and public policy.
Details on page 18

Indian Conulsate in Chicago; Consul General Mukta Tomar and Consul Vishwas Sakpal

CHICAGO: After a near four
years of not very pleasant stint
of outsourcing passport-visa applications to an outside agency
Travisa Outsourcing, the Indian
Consulate at the behest of Indian
Government has announced
outsourcing even OCI /PIO applications to the same agency

from the third week of March this
year.
In a noticed pasted at the Consulate office in Chicago, the announcement says that "it has
been decided to outsource the
services for processing of OCI
card/PIO card/Surrender Certificate applications in respect of the

Consulate General of India, Chicago to M/s Travisa Outsourcing,
Chicago.
The outsourcing arrangement
in respect of area falling under
consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General of India, Chicago
(Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, North Da-

kota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) will come into effect on 22nd
March 2011. M/s Travisa
Outsourcing will start to receive
applications for all OCI Card/PIO
Card/Surrender Certificate from
22nd March 2011."
Contíd on page 15

CHICAGO: Rham Emanuel, candidate for
Mayor of Chicago, said here that his top
most priority if elected would be to fix the
financial woes of the City so that development and progress of the city and its residents gets a boost.
He said that he was aware of the cultural
diversity of this great city and he would
have the same reflected in his administration at all levels. He was addressing a meet
of Indian Americans organized by Indo
American Democratic Organization (IADO)
to endorse him in his quest for Mayoral
position. Close to 100 guests, invitees and
supporters of Rham had gathered to have a
first hand interaction with him on different
issues.
Rham praised the Indian American community for its contribution for the well being of the city and he assured those present
that he would be in close contact with community activists in addressing specific problems faced by the community in general.
IADO Chief Harendra Mangrola welcomed
Rham saying, "It gives me great pleasure to
announce that the IADO Board of Directors voted to endorse your candidacy for
Mayor of Chicago."
Mangrola also said that IADO endorsed
an Indian American running for Aldermanic
position in 47th ward - Ameya Pawar - besides weighing behind Susan Mendoza for
City Clerk position. Talking about IADO,
he said that his organization "is the oldest

and most established Asian American political organization in this area. We have
advocated on issues such as immigration,
healthcare, education, hate crimes and

ernment. South Asian Americans are one of
the fastest growing communities in Illinois.
"Speakers at our gatherings have included President Barack Obama when he
was Senator, all Democratic Senators since

‘IADO will work hard for your
election. And after you are
elected, IADO would like to
work with you - as an organization. We want to help you
bring this great city together;
we want to help you keep us
moving forward, to solve the
problems that we must solve,
to recapture the vibrancy
that brought us here’
47th Aldermanic candidate Ameya Pawar

equal access to government. We have several hundred members, our volunteers have
registered thousands of voters and worked
on political campaigns at all levels of gov-

1980, all Mayors since Mayor Byrne, the
Governor, Attorneys General and several
members of the House of Representatives
including our very own Jan Schakowsky."

"We are endorsing you, Mr. Emmanuel,
because we believe you are the best candidate for the job of Mayor, the best person to keep moving this city forward. This
city has had the good fortune of having
had some highly capable mayors - including the current one. We believe you have
the best chance to carry on that great
legacy.
"IADO will work hard for your election.
And after you are elected, IADO would
like to work with you - as an organization.
We want to help you bring this great city
together; we want to help you keep us moving forward, to solve the problems that we
must solve, to recapture the vibrancy that
brought us here."
Continuing he said that IADO would like
to maintain its access with him for close
cooperation for the common good. "In that
context, Mr. Emmanuel, we request that you
come and address our next annual dinner.
We will set the date - in early fall - for your
convenience," he said.
US Congresswoman Jan Schakowski
came down to be part of the gathering that
endorsed Rham and she heaped praise on
Indian Americans and IADO for their all
around contribution for the betterment of
the city. Former IADO President Dr Ram
Gajjela also extended heart felt welcome to
Rham and exuded confidence that the
IADO backed candidate would become the
next Mayor of Chicago.

Outsourcing of OCI/PIO cards announced
Contíd from page 14

M/s Travisa Outsourcing is
located on 17 North State
Street, Suite no. 950, Chicago
IL 60602 Its Phone is :1-312346-2367 , Fax: 1-312-346-2930,
Email:
chicago@travisaoutsourcing.com and
Website: www.travisaindia.com
The Consulate notification asserts that no agency other that
M/s Travsia Outsourcing is au-

thorized for this purpose. It is clarified that the Consulate will not
accept above mentioned applications directly, after the
outsourcing goes into effect. All
decisions regarding granting of
above mentioned services remain
with the Consulate General of India, Chicago.
It is also clarified that the
Consulate will not directly accept "OCI Card/PIO Card/Surrender Certificate applications"

The outsourcing arrangement will not
affect the applicants
whose OCI/PIO/Surrender Certificate
applications are already under process
and received till 28th
February 2011

with effect from 1st March 2011.
The outsourcing arrangement will not affect the applicants whose OCI/PIO/Surrender Certificate applications are
already under process and received till 28th February 2011.
The Consulate sources state
that over 5000 OCI cards are
awaiting collection in the Consulate after it processed several thousand OCI applications.
Applicants may kindly check

their status online by inserting
their US/Foreign passport
number and the 'On-line Registration Number' or 'File
Acknowledgement Number' in
the link below
https://passport.gov.in/oci/
OnlineOCIenquiry.jsp
All the above-mentioned OCI
cards which remain uncollected
with the Consulate, will be sent
back to Ministry of Home Affairs,
New Delhi on 1st June 2011.

2pm at Gayatri Shaktipeeth in Chicago.
The program started with Guru
Mantra and inspired Pragya songs
by Kusum Patel and Harsaben

Gayatri Yagya main yajman Kailashben, Ambalal Patel & Sundariben

Pandya as chorus singers.
In her address, Kusum Patel,
head of the Pariwar, spoke about
Gurudev's life and his activities in
awakening mankind for its spiri-

Acharyaji established
Gayatri Tapobhumi at
Mathura (India) in
1953. He organized a
grand Gayatri Yagya
in 1958 which served
as a base to launch
the Yug Nirman Yojna,
a global movement
for moral, cultural,
intellectual and spiritual refinement and
reconstruction

Arti devotees

sary celebration as well as Vasant
Panchami program with great enthusiasm and a large presence of
devotees. The event took place on
Sunday February 13 from 10am to

Thakkar. They were accompanied
by Govindbhai Prajapati on tabla,
Anilbhai Patel on flute, a keyboard player and Gunvantbhai
Pandya and his wife Sakuben

he was nine years old. On the auspicious day of Vasant Panchami
festival, January 18, 1926, a guru
by the name of Swami
Sarveshvaranandji - a great Hima-

tual growth. The eminent scholar
and founder of the Banaras Hindu
University Pt. Madan Mohan
Malaviya initiated Sriram in the
worship of Gayatri mantra when

layan yogi -appeared before him
in astral body from the flame of
the Dipaka (lamp) during his
Gayatri worship. This sparked the
revelation of the divine origin and

purpose of his life. The next 24
years of his life were devoted to
24 Mahapurashcharanas - each
consisting of the rhythmic recitation (japa) of 2.4 million Gayatri
Mantras with strictest of disciplines. There is no parallel to this
kind of sadhana.
At the same time, he also whole
heartedly participated in the freedom struggle of India under the
inspiring guidance of Mahatma
Gandhi while continuing with his
spiritual activities. In 1943, he married Bhagwati Devi, and ever
since, the saintly couple
dedicatedly pursued the noble
mission of spiritual upliftment of
humankind.
On the completion of the 24
mahapurashcharanas, Acharyaji
established Gayatri Tapobhumi at
Mathura (India) in 1953. He organized a grand Gayatri Yagya in 1958
which served as a base to launch
the Yug Nirman Yojna, a global
movement for moral, cultural, intellectual and spiritual refinement
and reconstruction.
ContĂ­d on page 21

Cook County to lay off 170 employees
SURESH SHAH

CHICAGO: The Office of the Clerk of the
Circuit Court of Cook County issued 30-day
notice letters to 170 of its employees, whose
positions will be eliminated as of March 16.
The Clerk's Office began the process to be
in compliance with President Toni
Preckwinkle's request to elected officials to
cut their budgets.
"This is a painful day for all of us at the
Clerk's Office," said Clerk Dorothy Brown,
"We did what was requested, but it's not
without realizing that people are being laid
off during a tough economic time. This lay
off will put a high strain on the Clerk of the

Seal of City Clerk Office

Clerk of Circuit Court Dorothy Brown

Circuit Court's ability to perform its statutory and constitutional responsibilities,"
said Brown.
Dorothy Brown has been a very popular
Chicagoland leader among Indian Americans for her broad vision and helping nature to the minority communities, including
Indian Americans.
Many talented Indian American have
been employed at her office in Chicago and
some of them are holding highly responsible position.
]It has to be seen how many of these
employees get axed.

Community Across America

February 25, 2011

India Post 17

www.indiapost.com

Vasant Panchami celebrated at Gayatri Mandir
SURENDRA ULLAL

Children and second generation Indians at Gayatri Temple

CHICAGO: It was one of the
grandest celebrations of the Hindu
festival Vasant Panchami and the
100th birth anniversary of
Acharya Shri Ram Sharma, the
founder of All World Gayatri
Pariwar.
The celebration, a three-day
affair from February 6 to 8 was organized by Gayatri Gyan Mandir
in Itasca, a north side suburb of
Chicago. There was a sizeable participation from devotees across
Chicago land on all three days.

The young second generation Indians as well as children too were
seen in the Temple taking part in
the celebrations.
The start was with the Gayatri
Maha Yagya in the morning of
February 6 from 10 am till 2 pm.
The evening marked the
Deepotsav where a number of
Deeps (lamps) wee lighted. For two
days - February 7 and 8 - there was
non stop Jap of Gayatri
Mahamantra starting 6 am in the
morning. The culmination was on

Harendra Mangrola,
one of the main organizers of Gayatri Gyan
Mandir, was in
Haridwar during this
time and he said the
event in Itasca was
synchronized

Arati at Gayatri Gyan Mandir

February 8 in the evening when
hundreds of Deeps were lighted
as part of the worldwide celebration of the event.
Harendra Mangrola, one of the
main organizers of Gayatri Gyan
Mandir, was in Haridwar during
this time and he said the event in
Itasca was synchronized with the
one at Shanti Kunj in Haridwar
where Dr Pranav Pandya and Sahil
Didi lighted the lamp. Under their
guidance, millions of households
across the globe lighted five lamps

in their home heralding the onset
of new era of peace and prosperity. He said that yet another program is to write Gayatri Mantra for
forty
days
beginning
Mahashivratri festival and ending
with Ram Navmi festival in April.
The devotees at the Itasca temple
would pick up the same type of
activities and celebrate the 100th
birth anniversary of their founder
Acharya Shri Ram Sharma in a
most befitting manner, Mangrola
added.

Community Across America

18 India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

Jalaram Mandir management
thanks volunteers

IAC essay contest in
honor of Dr Kalam

YOGESH THAKKAR

NISHA SUTARIA

CHICAGO: From the "People's
President" to the "Environment
Ambassador" of India, Dr APJ
Abdul Kalam, eleventh President
of India, has dedicated himself to
the advancement of education for

for current Illinois high school students that addresses Dr. Kalam's
concerns with science, the environment, and public policy. This
contest and educational awards
are sponsored equally by Mr.

CHICAGO: The nearly three
years old Shree Jalaram Mandir in
Hoffman Estate, a Chicago suburb,

Ashwin Thakkar welcomed all those
present as well as
artists of Suranali
group who had done
a wonderful job in
entertaining all those
present by rendering
old and new songs.
Thakkar also introduced Suranjali
group artists
Singer Vijaya Israni

celebrated the volunteer appreciation day on Saturday, February 12

from 5 pm to 11 pm.
The Mandir had invited all volunteers to celebrate this day and
over 150 volunteers attended the
program.
The event started with the
lighting of the lamp Deep
Pragatya by Pravin Pandya and
Diwanji.
Ashwin Thakkar welcomed all
those present as well as artists
of Suranali group who had done
a wonderful job in entertaining
all those present by rendering
old and new songs. Thakkar also
introduced Suranjali group artists.
Rajendra J. Thakkar, a Temple
activist, appreciated the volunteering done by all the volunteers
in fulfilling the objectives of the
Mandir. The Temple chief
Chirayu Parikh proposed a vote
of thanks.

tage Museum, has
announced holding
an essay contest for
current Illinois high
school students
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

young people, particularly
through studying science.
In Dr Kalam's honor, the IndoAmerican Center (IAC), with the
cooperation of the Indo-American
Heritage Museum, has announced holding an essay contest

Roshan Goel, the Blackstone
Group (bgglobal.com), and PenPal
Notes (PenpalNotes.com), each of
whom is committed to youth education and empowerment.
ContĂ­d on page 20

NEW JERSEY: A 36-year-old
Indian origin man in Old Bridge,
New Jersey was killed Feb 10,
when he was struck by a vehicle
while walking across Route 9 as
he was heading to work at a convenience store, NJ.Com reported.
Police said Davender Singh was
walking across the southbound
lanes of the highway near Ferry
Road at 5:55 a.m. when he was
struck by a car driven by one Rob-

ert Topal, 57, of Marlboro. Singh
was pronounced dead at the
scene, NJ.Com said quoting police Capt. Arthur Carullo.
Moments before the accident,
Singh had gotten off a southbound bus that had stopped at
Ferry Road, Carullo said.
He said Singh had walked a
short distance of the edge of the
highway, then tried to cross the
road to reach a 7-Eleven store on
the northbound side of the highway, where he worked.

Carullo said Singh crossed that
highway at a location where there
is no crosswalk, traffic light or
other traffic control. Singh was
struck by the vehicle in the left lane
of the southbound lanes of traffic, the captain said.
Two southbound lanes of the
highway were closed for more
than four hours and police investigated the accident. Authorities
ask that anybody with information
about the accident call Officer
John Bulin at (732) 679-5959.

he Overseas Friends of
BJP-USA (OFBJP-USA)
has launched a new chapter in Dallas, Texas, as approved
by its National Executive Committee (NEC).
The national president, Dr.
Adapa Prasad, announced
Ghanshyam M. Kakadia as the
Coordinator of the new chapter.
OFBJP past President Suresh Jani
said that Kakadia was not only an
accomplished businessman in
Dallas area but also a known community activist among Indian

Americans.
Kakadia said that he would
strive hard towards achieving the
OFBJP goals and expand it to other
areas around Dallas-Fort Worth.
At the inaugural meet, attended
by several party workers, two resolutions were passed: (1) Condemning Government of India's weak
Kashmir policy; (2) related to the
numerous financial scandals
plaguing the UPA government,
such as 2G Spectrum, Commonwealth Games, black money in
Swiss banks etc.

Community/California

February 25, 2011

India Post 19

www.indiapost.com

Demystifying college admission
process
India Post News Service

FREMONT, CA: Flex College Prep is presenting a rare and unique seminar providing
up-to-date insider information about the college admissions process for high school students. Former college admission officers will
role play the private school admission review process of three high school applicants.
The seminar will be held on Saturday,
March 5 at Mission San Jose High School
in Room C120, 41717 Palm Avenue, Fremont
CA, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
The Seminar aims to demystify the process, provide reliable information, and help
students and parents develop a successful
college admission or application strategy.
The Flex Info Bank speakers featuring
highly experienced former college admission
officers from Top Tier universities include
among others:
Robert Jackson: Former Associate Direc-

tor of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale
University. He was also the Regional Admissions Officer for Los Angeles, New York,
Hawaii, Nevada, and South Pacific territories

‘Our goal is to empower students and families with information that can be used to plan for college admissions and to
manage the stress associated with this process. This seminar
aims to demystify the admissions process by going behind
the Admissions Office's closed doors and addressing how
schools select applicants for admission’
Rae Shaw: Former University of Chicago,
Assistant Director of Admissions
Ethan Hutt: Yale University Admission
Interviewer and currently at Stanford University, PhD in Education
Danny Byun: CEO Flex and former Con-

University: PhD in Education (ABD): MA
in Economics
Space is limited and registration is required at www.flexcollegeprep.com.
Flex College Prep said in a statement, "Our
goal is to empower students and families

with information that can be used to plan
for college admissions and to manage the
stress associated with this process. This
seminar aims to demystify the admissions
process by going behind the Admissions
Office's closed doors and addressing how
schools select applicants for admission."
Some of the topics that will be covered
include:
• Explaining "who gets accepted," and
"why they got in "or "not get in"
• How do I choose extracurricular activities?
• What's more important: grades or extracurricular activities?
• Why isn't a 4.0+ GPA and 2400 SAT
score a guarantee of admission to top
schools?
• How do I manage stress - what do colleges want to see in the application?
• What is a good college essay topic?
What should I expect in an interview?"

Ahmadiyyas pained by murders in Indonesia
India Post News Service

Three Ahmadi Muslims were
killed in Indonesia this past Sunday, Feb. 6, in a barbaric, unprovoked attack by Sunni Muslims.
Brandishing machetes, spears,
knives and other weapons, a mob
of more than 1,000 people
stormed the local center of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

spite being forewarned several
days before that an attack on the
local Ahmadi Muslims was imminent. Thus far, no one has been
arrested for the killings.
The worldwide head of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
His Holiness Mirza Masroor
Ahmad, has counseled the members to respond with prayer in
the following statement:

The barbarity of the perpetrators knows no
bounds; indeed people watching the merciless
beatings were clapping and cheering. The
local police and authorities failed to protect
the Ahmadi Muslims
in Cikeusik, Indonesia. In addition to three deaths, five Ahmadi
Muslims were seriously injured.
One house, two cars and one
motorcycle belonging to Ahmadi
Muslims were set on fire.
Local police at the scene failed
to prevent the mob violence, de-

"This horrific attack has
caused grief and pain to all
Ahmadi Muslims worldwide and
indeed to all peace-loving
people.
The barbarity of the perpetrators knows no bounds; indeed
people watching the merciless

beatings were clapping and
cheering. The local police and
authorities failed to protect the
Ahmadi Muslims and allowed
them to be exposed to this cruel
and brutal attack.
"Whenever such attacks occur, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (both in Indonesia and
worldwide) always displays patience and seeks solace -- not in
revenge or violence, but through
prayers to God Almighty -- and
this will always remain the case.
It is, however, certain that those
who have inflicted these cruelties will be answerable to God Al-

mighty and will have to face His
punishment. In the meantime the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
will continue to bow down in
front of the One God and seek
His Protection and Help."
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has called on the Indonesian government to fulfill its
constitutional promise to protect
all of its citizens, regardless of
religion.
But this has become increasingly harder to do, largely because in 2008, the president of
Indonesia sought to appease
radical Islamic clerics and their

voting congregations by enacting a law prohibiting the
Ahmadiyya sect from publicly
practicing or preaching its version of Islam.
The result of this has been a
steadily rising tide of unrestrained and unpunished vitriol
and persecution directed against
Ahmadi Muslims and also Christians -- two groups that suffer
frequent violence at the hands
of Islamic militants eager to expunge any and all beliefs it
deems un-Islamic.
Contíd on page 20

ROSEMEAD, CA: In celebration of its 125th anniversary,
Edison International is expanding
the number of awardees in its signature scholarship program to include students in 14 states where
the company generates and distributes electricity, and has
changed requirements so recipients can attend any accredited
university in the U.S.
"We recognize the significance
of a college education, and expanding this program allows more
young people to pursue academic
opportunities," said Theodore F.
Craver Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, Edison International. "These scholarships will
help broaden students' educational
experiences, providing a solid foundation that will serve them well in
an increasingly competitive employment environment."
This year, the Edison Scholars
program will award 125 scholarships to coincide with the
company¹s landmark anniversary.
Previously, the company offered
up to 75 scholarships annually and
they were available only to eligible
residents in the service territory
of Edison¹s subsidiary, Southern
California Edison (SCE).
Scholarship applications will be
accepted from eligible students
living in SCE's service territory in
California, as well as students in
designated schools in Illinois,
Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia
and Wyoming, where Edison
International¹s Edison Mission
Group (EMG) and Midwest Generation provide service. The ap-

W

plication deadline is March 15.
Winners will be notified by June.
For the first time in the
program¹s history, selected scholarship recipients may attend any
accredited four-year college or
university in the country.
The Edison Scholars program
focuses on students studying science, technology, engineering and
math. Each selected high school
senior will be awarded a $2,500 college scholarship. Awards are renewable an additional three years for a
total of $10,000, provided recipients
meet all eligibility requirements.
Applicants must:
• Be high school seniors who
live, or attend a public or private
school, in areas serviced by SCE,
or attend an eligible high school
in the designated area surrounding SCE's San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station.
• Be high school seniors who
attend an eligible school in designated areas serviced by EMG and
its subsidiaries.
• Be planning to attend an accredited four-year college in the U.S.
• Be full-time students majoring
in math, physics, chemistry, engineering, materials science or computer science/information systems.
• Have a cumulative grade point
average of 2.8 or higher.
• Be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.
• Demonstrate financial need.
Since 1993, Edison International has awarded nearly $2 million in scholarships to more than
300 students.
To download an application
and get more details about the
Edison Scholars program, including lists of eligible schools and
colleges, candidates may go to
www.edison.com/edisonscholars.

ith another SIT report leak,
Modi-bashing has started
again. He is the whipping boy
of everybody who have their own axe to
grind. Naturally he gets sympathies from
people who are not biased and have an
independent way of thinking. Ahmedabad
has a history of communal conflicts. I was
posted in Ahmedabad (while I was in the
Army) in 1969 (or was it 1970?) when massive riots took place and Army were called
in and I had a first hand knowledge of
what happened then. Muslims started the
riots and Hindus retaliated. Congress
Government was in power then and no
records of deaths were published though
unconfirmed reports put it over 2000.
Modi had to face the tide of people's
revulsion when 100 and odd innocent pilgrims were burnt alive in Godhra train.
This revulsion might have percolated into
public and police. Modi did what he
could. But nobody bothers that more Hindus died in police firing than Muslims.

IAC essay contest in honor of Dr Kalam
Contíd from page 18

Ashref Hashim, President of the
Blackstone Group and member of
IAC's Board of Directors, said "It
really is a privilege for us to be
among the sponsors of this event
honoring an individual like Dr
Kalam who is so committed to the
environment - his inspiring work
strives to make the world better,
and we're happy to be a part of
this effort. I think high school students are in the forefront of this
movement and that this essay contest opportunity can inspire and
motivate these students to think
differently and come up with an
innovative solution that can truly
impact our community... and anything a community can do to help
the environment can, in turn, give
back to the globe."
The essay contest topic is as
follows: "Ignorance of the consequences of human action always
plays a major part in the degrada-

The first prize will be
an educational
award of $1,000, the
second prize will be
an educational
award of $500, and
the third prize will be
an educational
award of $250
tion that is taking place at present
and describe the scientific research you think is needed to help

make people aware of the consequences of our action. Besides
scientific understanding, in a
democratic society, what else is
needed to bring an end to this instance of environmental degradation?"
The first prize will be an educational award of $1,000, the second
prize will be an educational award
of $500, and the third prize will be an
educational award of $250. In addition to educational awards, each
award winner will also receive a complimentary ticket to Dr Kalam's public reception on April 24.
The submission deadline is
April 4 and additional information
regarding essay submission,
guidelines, eligibility and rules can
be
found
at
http://
w w w. i n d o a m e r i c a n . o r g /
kalamessay. The Indo-American
Center is a not-for-profit community service organization serving
the South Asian immigrant population.

Ahmadiyyas pained by murders in Indonesia
Contíd from page 19

Commenting on the tragedy
from the Baitul Hameed Mosque
in Chino, the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community's S.W. regional missionary Imam Shamshad A. Nasir
said: "We are feeling tremendous
pain and sadness at the murder of
our brother Ahmadis in Indonesia.
When anyone is killed, especially
in such a cruel and inhuman manner by an angry mob, it is a horrific tragedy."
On the question of how he felt
about the attackers being members of the same religion as him,
the Imam answered, "How can

these people call themselves Muslims, killing innocent, defenseless
human beings? What kind of
Muslims are these who can do
such evil and then tell others to
accept Islam because the Prophet
Muhammad was sent as a mercy
to all mankind?
"How are these unholy, violent
Muslims showing themselves to
be a mercy to their fellow human
beings by cruelly beating them to
death?
And they expect non-Muslims
to want to be Muslims after seeing things like this? Such evil can
only drive people away from Islam - what they think is Islam. But

Readers Write...
www.indiapost.com

Modi did what he could
He has also been able to get 600 convictions in the post-riot trials out of which 20
got life sentences. But look at the Congress
record. In the anti-Sikh riots, more than 3000
innocents were massacred. How many of
these murderers are punished till now.
Rather Rajiv Gandhi justified the massacre
with his infamous and stupid earth trembling remark .Or is it because Sikhs' blood is
expendable since they are not supported
by Jihadis?
As far as R.B. Srikumar, the main witness
of SIT, is concerned less said the better. He
has a dubious professional record. He was
first charge sheeted in 1999 when he was
with IB in the infamous ISRO espionage
case. Due to his past record he was denied
DGP's post which made him an enemy of

Modi. But true to his character, Modi never
put him in the dog house as a Chairman of a
Police Housing Board or some thing else.
He gave him the important Crime Branch
which I am sure he will be regretting now.
He never knew he was putting a cobra into
his underpants.
Modi also got the ire of the billion dollars worth proselytizing international Christian groups for not allowing fraudulent conversions in Gujarat. It is their pressure that
denied a visa for him by USA, a country
which has no qualms in supporting mass
murderers in South America and Middle
East.
I used to wonder why the entire English
media is against Modi in spite of the good
work being done by him in Gujarat. This

Disclaimer :- India Post does not endorse opinions expressed in the letters.

this is not Islam, what these socalled Muslims are doing. It's disgraceful!"
Muslims, Imam Shamshad explained, are required to follow the
example of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad, to seek peace and be
peaceful.
The word "Muslim" even
means to submit to God and be at
peace. That's why the Imam says
that Ahmadi Muslims are always
peaceful and will always be peaceful. This is why people who want
peaceful Islam are drawn to
Ahmadiyya Islam. It is nothing like
what the extremists say is their Islam.

brings to my mind an earlier report about
clandestine foreign funding of our main
channels. The recent episodes involving
luminaries in the visual media like Barkha
Dutt has proved the depth of decadence
they can stoop to.
The efforts of alleged foreign funded
NGOs like the one headed by Teesta
Setalvad, dubious characters like
Sreekumar, a minority brainwashed into
hating Modi, missionaries who are denied the right to denigrate Hinduism and
fraudulently convert people, Islamic
jihadis who want an Islamic state in India and a party which has no shame to
be a puppet in the hands of a foreign
born lady all may cry hoarse and conspire against Modi, but as a true patriot
he will overcome all these. No wonder
Gujarat is the most prosperous and
communally peaceful state in the country
now.
Chandru Bhambhra
OFBJP, California

Community/California

February 25, 2011

India Post 21

www.indiapost.com

Barrows seeks support of Indian Americans
India Post News Service

CERRITOS,
CA:
Councilmember Bruce W. Barrows
has appealed to Indian Americans
to vote to re-elect him to the
Cerritos City Council.
Barrows was elected to the City
Council in April of 1994 and was
re-elected to the City Council in
1999. Councilmember Barrows was
again elected to the City Council
in 2007. He served as Mayor in
1997-1998, 2002-2003 and 20092010, and as mayor pro tem in

ity (serving as Chair), Gateway
Cities Council of Governments
(where he previously served as
Chairman from 2000-2001 and as a
member of the organization's Executive Board from 1997 - 2003 and
2009 to current) and the League of
California Cities. He is the alternate representative to the City
Selection Committee/Metropolitan Transportation Authority and
is the second alternate for the Sanitation Districts 2, 3, 18 & 19/Waste
Management.
Councilmember Barrows is the

Councilmember Barrows serves on the City's Auto
Mall, Legislative, Performing Arts, and Personnel
Committees. He is the Council's delegate to the
Orangeline Development Authority (serving as
Chair), Gateway Cities Council of Governments
(where he previously served as Chairman from
2000-2001 and as a member of the
organization's Executive Board from 1997 - 2003
1996-1997 and 2008-2009. Prior to
his election to the City Council in
1994, Barrows was a member of the
City's Planning Commission from
1988 to 1994 and served a term as
Chair of the commission.
Councilmember Barrows serves
on the City's Auto Mall, Legislative, Performing Arts, and Personnel Committees. He is the
Council's delegate to the
Orangeline Development Author-

Vice President, League of California Cities - Los Angeles Division
Executive Board and as Chair of
the Legislative Committee. In 2009
he served on the League of California Cities Annual Planning
Committee. He has also served on
the League of California Cities
Transportation, Communications
& Public Works Policy Committee
(January 2008 to December 2009),
League of California Cities - Los

Gayatri Pariwar celebrates
Gurudev's centenary
ContĂ­d from page 16

She informed that the one year
period beginning Feb. 8, 2011 to
January 28, 2012 will be celebrated
as a Gurudev's birthday worldwide.
Present during the celebration
in Chicago were Haribhai Patel,
president of Senior Citizens Group
USA, Narsinhbhai Patel, a guest
of honor, Acharya Rohitbhai Joshi
a Guru Puja priest, and L Rao, special guest. For yagya main yajmans
were Sundariben Kailashben and

Ambalal Patel. For Gurudev's
100th birthday celebration, Dhruv
Patel donned the attire as young
15 year old Gurudev.
Sholaben Patel was appointed
as a Mahila Mandal group leader.
Udupi, Viceroy of India, Jai Hind,
Punjab Sweets, India House and
Jaiminy Thakkar, Rajanben Patel
and Gitaben Bhagat provided
mahaprasad.
Gayatri Shaktipeeth will celebrate Mahashivratri on Sunday
March 6 at 10am at its Chicago
facility.

Angeles Division Executive Board
as Treasurer from 2008 to 2009 and
as Secretary from 2009 to 2010 (Executive Board and Legislative
Committee, Los Angeles Division
January 2001-March 2003).
Councilmember Barrows serves
on the Regional Council, Transportation and the Legislative Committees for the Southern California Association of Governments
(SCAG). In addition, he served as
the regional representative to the

Southern California Association of
Governments (SCAG) from 19972003. There, he served on SCAG's
Transportation Committee, and as
Vice Chair (2002-2003) of the High
Speed MagLev Task Force. He has
also served as a member of the
United States Conference of Mayors Transportation and Arts Committee from 2009 to 2010, 2002 to
2003 and from 1997 to 1998.
Additionally, Councilmember
Barrows served as the City's del-

egate to the Workforce Investment
Board's Policy Board from 1997 to
2003, including two years as Chair.
He and his wife Teresa have
resided in Cerritos since 1978.
They raised their grown children
in Cerritos, including their three
sons Josh, Nathan (wife April) and
Daniel, and one daughter, Jessica
Roberts (husband Glenn), and are
blessed with one granddaughter,
Savannah and one grandson,
Laird.

C

ircle rates, the minimum
value of any piece of land
or immovable property for
registration, have been doubled in
Delhi. First fixed in 2007, they've
been revised for the first time. Developers and analysts were split
on whether this would take property prices up significantly in the
capital. While some developers
indicated these could increase 10
to 12 per cent, others anticipated
only a marginal impact, as the market rates were already much higher
than the revised structure in many
places.
There's consensus, however,
that the overall revenue going into
the city government kitty from
stamp duties would shoot up. The
government said it wanted to check
the circulation of black money in
realty transactions by revising the
circle rates. After the Delhi Cabinet
led by chief minister Sheila Dikshit
had decided to increase the circle
rates by 100 per cent, Lieutenant
Governor Tejendra Khanna had
opposed it. Subsequently, the matter was referred to the Union home
ministry, which backed the Delhi
government.
Delhi is divided into eight

Real Estate
22

India Post

www.indiapost.com

Unitech to develop
10mn sqft area
Realty major Unitech said it will launch 10 million
square feet of area in next four months, at an estimated
construction cost of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore. "We will
launch various projects across the country with a saleable area of 10 million sq ft. The majority of the projects
would be mid-segment housing," a senior company
official said.

February 25, 2011

Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 23

Land registration rates doubled in Delhi
years in Delhi; therefore, the increased circle rate is justified."
Welcoming the city government
move, he said, "It should result in
improving transparency in the
residential transactions in the city,
henceforth."
On whether the circle rate revision would impact property prices
sharply, Magazine noted property
values in many localities were already extremely high, and on par
with advanced economies. The
revised rates would have an im-

On whether the circle rate revision would
impact property prices sharply, Magazine noted
property values in many localities were
already extremely high, and on par with
advanced economies
circles for property valuation purposes. Experts note that neighboring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh
have revised their circle rates frequently. The revised rates will be
referred to for registration of instruments (land and immovable
properties) in the city in line with
the amended Delhi Stamp (Prevention of Undervaluation of Instruments) Rules. Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director, CB Richards Ellis (a real
estate consulting firm), said, "Property prices have increased over the

pact only in cases where the property prices are quite low, he argued.
However, Manoj Goyal, vice-president, Raheja Developers Ltd, said
the increase would affect property
prices in Delhi by 10 to 12 per cent,
due to the burden of additional
stamp duty and capital gains tax.
"The government's initiative to
minimize the black marketing will
serve if the duty is reduced to two
per cent from six per cent now,
besides hiking the circle rates."
According to Goyal, a cut in stamp
duty rate would help in control-

ling the rise in property prices
caused by the increase in circle
rates.
Another developer in the city,
RG Group, ruled out any significant impact of the revised rates on
property prices. Rajesh Goyal,
managing director of RG Group,
argued there would not be any effect of the circle rate revision on
property prices. In most areas, rates
are already much higher than the
circle rates announced, he said. But

it will make the registration process
a costly affair, he added. According to the RG Group, this move will
help in reducing the gap between
the government-fixed circle rate
and the actual market rate, reducing the role of black money in this
business.
The National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco) has
hailed the step. This will not only
increase the stamp duty collection,
which is shared between the Delhi

government and the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) but
also encourage property buyers
and sellers to declare the true
value of property, thereby minimizing black money transactions,
Naredco stressed. It has, however,
called for reduction in stamp duty
as a next step, "as this would encourage more people to declare
true value even in high value transaction of property and increase
the revenue for the government".

Mantri Group residential project in Mumbai

S

unil Mantri Group, a developer of residential and commercial spaces across
14 cities in India, has announced the
launch of its landmark residential project
Mantri Serene, nestled against the backdrop
of the Aarey hills in Goregoan (East),
Mumbai. Spread across over 2 acres, the
premium residential community is designed
as a green haven that offers residents natural beauty in and around. It will consist of
around 300 premium 1 BHK and 2 BHK residential apartments outfitted with modern
amenities and offering serene lifetime views
of the verdant hills.
One of the unique offering of the project
will be a double-height entrance lobby which
will give a magnificent look to the entrance
of the building. The whole project is situated
on a podium which offers it a visibility and
prominence unmatched by any other project
in the vicinity. The project is designed by

visionary architect, Hafeez Contractor.
The project envisages spacious and welloutfitted 1 BHK and 2 BHK flats and penthouses. What is unique about the flats is
that the 1 BHK flats have 2 bathrooms for

Mantri Serene's core advantage is that it
is situated close to a major IT Park and is in
the close vicinity of the burgeoning Powai
and Andheri MIDC commercial areas. It is
also a short drive of around 20 minutes from

The range of internal amenities includes vitrified tile flooring, wide French windows, premium bathroom fittings
and skid-free ceramic tiles in bathrooms. Moreover,
each flat will be equipped with intercom facility
the convenience of guests and residents.
Ample parking space has been provided for
vehicle owners and a swimming pool and
club house ensures a healthy lifestyle for
the families of residents.

the domestic and international airports making it a convenient residential hub for jetsetting businessmen as well as business
executives.
Speaking at the launch, Sunil Mantri,

chairman, Sunil Mantri Group, said, "Our
years of experience and understanding of
the Mumbai real estate market gives us the
confidence to develop residential projects
catering to the needs of the buyers. We are
confident that Mantri Serene will be a landmark that will redefine suburban living in
Mumbai."
The range of internal amenities includes
vitrified tile flooring, wide French windows,
premium bathroom fittings and skid-free
ceramic tiles in bathrooms. Moreover, each
flat will be equipped with intercom facility.
Additionally, the project will would contain
a swimming pool with a paddle pool for children to safely paddle around in, landscaped
areas, club house, fully equipped gymnasium, etc. The company has around 15 million sq ft currently under development
across 14 cities, of which it has around 8
lakh sq ft in Mumbai.

Real Estate

February 25, 2011

India Post

23

www.indiapost.com

40% of luxury apartments lying unsold

A

n estimated 40% of luxury apartments coming up in India's finan
cial center are unsold, say analysts
and brokers. These apartments cost anywhere from $1 million to $12 million, and
range from 5,000 square feet to 13,000 square
feet in size. Sales have slowed down in the
last two to three months, thanks mainly to
the steep prices. In December, the number
of apartments registered in Mumbai - an indicator of sales - fell 50% from the same
month the previous year, according to research from investment firm Prabhudas
Liladhar Pvt. Ltd. While this data includes
non-luxury apartments as well, real estate
brokers and consultants say luxury home
sales have been similarly affected.
"Sale volumes have dipped in pretty
much every market in India," says Gulam
Zia, national director for research and advisory services at Knight Frank India Pvt. Ltd.,
a real estate consulting firm. Analysts say
that if sales continue to remain slow, developers may have to cut prices or offer perks
to lure buyers. In recent years, India has witnessed a boom in the construction of luxury
apartments which resemble those in cities
like New York and Singapore. These are meant
to cater to India's growing number of new
wealthy as well as the traditionally rich who
want to live in modern apartments.
Around 3,700 luxury apartments are currently under construction in Mumbai and
its suburbs with a price tag of $1 million or
more, according to Delhi-based research firm
P.E. Analytics Pvt. Ltd. Of these, around
1,440 are unsold. In Delhi and its suburbs,
one quarter of the 2,300 luxury apartments
under construction are unsold, according
to the firm. Residential apartments in India,
including those in the luxury market, are
typically sold before they are fully constructed. Analysts say that developers in
India sometimes delay the construction of
their project to ensure that they don't have
a large number of unsold units in their ready
buildings. Some of the luxury apartments in
Mumbai and Delhi have become 20% to 30%
costlier than they were a year ago, thanks

to growing wealth in India as well as general euphoria about the real estate market.
But now, "buyers are not happy with
these high rates," says Sanjeet D. Narain,
managing director of Mumbai real estate
consulting firm Narains Corp. At the same
time, many buyers have a lot of money stuck
in the Indian stock market which has fallen
more than 10% so far this year. So, they
want to "wait for some more time," says
Aditya Juneja, a real estate broker in

the highly-coveted south Mumbai area. Private developers bought land in Lower Parel
from cotton and textile mills at 3,000 rupees
($66) per square foot to 6,000 rupees ($132)
rupees per square foot in the early part of
this decade, says Samir Jasuja, founder of
P.E. Analytics. Now, apartments in this
neighborhood are priced between 15,000
rupees ($330) and 30,000 rupees ($660) per
square foot. So builders can recover their
costs by selling just a handful of such apart-

to entice buyers, says Mr. Narain. Buyers
should be negotiating discounts and deals
even now, say analysts. They should also
be prepared to see delays in the construction of these projects, says Mr. Jasuja.
The slowdown in sales of luxury properties has not stopped developers from
launching new projects. The Donald
Trump-backed building is expected to be
officially launched in the next two months
by Mumbai-based developer Rohan

ments. "Developers can even afford to hang
on," says Mr. Jasuja. However, developers
who have a large inventory of properties
may feel the crunch of financing as banks
become increasingly cautious about lending to real estate developers. Also, India's
interest rates have risen over the last year
making it more costly to borrow money.
"The pressure has started building,' says
Mr. Narain. Analysts expect developers to
cut prices of luxury homes by 10% to 15%
in the next few months. Alternatively, some
developers might choose to offer freebies
like free parking and a waiver of stamp duty

Lifescapes Ltd. The building will be on
Hughes Road in south Mumbai and will
have apartments which are 5,000 square feet
and overlook the Arabian Sea, says Haresh
Mehta, chairman of Rohan Lifescapes. For
a fee, Mr. Trump will contribute his name
and design among other things. Mr. Mehta
expects the apartments to command a premium of as much as 40% compared to other
luxury apartments in Mumbai because of
the prime location and the branding. He
didn't specify the price they plan to charge.
"There will be people wanting to buy
Trump," he says.

In December, the number of
apartments registered in
Mumbai - an indicator of
sales - fell 50% from the
same month the previous
year, according to research
from investment firm
Prabhudas Liladhar Pvt. Ltd.
While this data includes nonluxury apartments as well,
real estate brokers and
consultants say luxury
home sales have been
similarly affected
Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi. So far, developers have not budged from their asking
prices. Many of them bought the land on
which they are building properties at very
low rates and are charging 10 times their
cost of purchase for the apartment building. If only a small percentage of the apartments in a particular site are sold, they can
recover their costs and thus afford to wait
for the others to sell at high prices.
In land-scarce Mumbai, for instance, a
large number of homes for the super-rich
are coming up in the Lower Parel neighborhood, which is attractive for its proximity to

Banks issue notices to real estate
companies

P

ublic sector banks including
State Bank of India, Bank of
Baroda, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank have served
notices to dozens of real estate
companies to recover around Rs
20,000 crore of their exposure by
March. The banks are now making efforts to recover their real estate loans which were restructured in the aftermath of global
financial crisis in 2008.
However, some of the real estate companies which are currently witnessing low volume of
business have already asked for
further restructuring of these
loans, a proposal which banks are
generally not willing to endorse.
M Narendra, CMD, IOB confirmed that the bank has sent no-

tices to some of the real estate
firms.

A senior SBI official
said that the bank has
taken action under
the Sarfaesi Act which
empowers the banks
to seize and sell assets
in case of defaults
Nagesh Pydah, CMD, Oriental
Bank of Commerce and RK
Bakshi, executive director, Bank

of Baroda, said efforts were being made to recover the loans to
realty companies. A senior SBI
official requesting anonymity
said that the bank has taken action under the Sarfaesi Act which
empowers the banks to seize and
sell assets in case of defaults to
recover their dues.
No confirmation of the banks'
move was available from the real
estate companies. "We have sent
notices to five-six real estate companies and asked them to repay
our entire outstanding amount
within 40-50 days.
A majority of such accounts
are related to IT parks and located
at places like Bangalore,
Hyderabad and Mumbai," said
Narendra.

Unitech to develop
10mn sqft area
Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 22

The company would incur a
cost of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore over
the next three years on construction of 10 million sq ft of area.
In a presentation to the investors,

Unitech said it has sold 7.9 million sq
ft of area in the first nine months of
this fiscal for Rs 3,348 crore.
The company is targeting to
sell 10 million sq ft of area at a
sale value of Rs 5,000 crore, it
added.

fter a decade of courtship, John Abraham and
Bipasha Basu have finally called it quits.
A couple that captured our imagination with
their impeccable chemistry and candor has sadly
parted ways. This time it's official. Reportedly, John
and Bipasha had gotten bored of each other, according to Mumbai Mirror.
They ended their rocky 10-year-old relationship
because of difference of opinions. "They may still
make an appearance together at an event but the fact
is that they are no longer a couple," said a source
close to the couple.
"The split was very much impending", claims a
close friend of theirs and adds, "Bipasha wanted
marriage but John was not ready to be tied down.
They were together for a decade, so the decision
came naturally to Bipasha."
People started taking notice because John and
Bipasha had stopped making public appearances or
going to social functions together. They would either go separately or deliberately land up at different
times, while keeping a track of each other's schedules through common friends.
A friend of John's told Mumbai Mirror, "He is my
closest friend and we get along very well. His mind
has always been full of Bipasha and it used to be so
every time we met. Lekin abhi aisa nahin hai. He has
just stopped talking about her completely."

here brother Saif Ali Khan is
in proclaimed romantic relationship with Kareena
Kapoor, sister Soha Ali Khan too has
been in relationship with Kunal Khemu
for quite some years, but unlike
Saifeena, Kunal and Soha abstain from
commenting on their relationship.
However, finally, Soha has broken the
silence and during a recent interview,
she stated that she and Kunal will be
ready to get married in a couple of years
adding that they have met each other's
parents and have their approval for the
marriage.
Soha also expressed her concern regarding her cooking skills and stated that
she intended to take up cooking classes
as she wishes to cook for Kunal, who is
a great foodie. Soha also stated that she
would not wait for brother Saif to get
married first, if he takes up another ten
years to take the vow.

February 25, 2011

Bollywood

India Post

25

www.indiapost.com

P

aying tribute to the dancing queens seems to
be the current trend at Bollywood functions.
Priyanka Chopra honored Madhuri Dixit by
dancing to her songs. Kareena Kapoor is following
the suit.
Kareena has agreed to pay tribute to yet another
Bollywood sensation with golden feet - Sridevi at
an award function. Bebo does not like to dance on
other heroine's songs and prefers her own. But this
time it is different. Her best friend Ekta Kapoor was
instrumental in convincing her to do the honors.
Kareena will dance on a medley of Sri's songs
like Hawa hawai, Morni bagamaa bole, Mere haatho
mein nau nau chudiyaan hain, Nainon mein sapna
etc. Manish Malhotra who had designed clothes
for the past reigning queen, Sridevi, will also design clothes for the present one, Kareena Kapoor,
for the show.

Chest tattoo

Soap
success
I

t is her first television ad campaign. Sonakshi Sinha is happy that
she is Katrina Kaif's successor as the face of Dyna soap and says
it was a lot of fun getting into the bathtub for it.
Sonakshi and Katrina are incidentally both Salman Khan's protegees
and the "Dabangg" newcomer insists there's no tension between them.
Sonakshi is full of admiration for her senior and doesn't think she has
replaced Katrina in the Dyna soap ad.
"Katrina had done the Dyna campaign many years back and they haven't
had a brand ambassador after her. So like every brand and celebrity move
on, so have Dyna and Katrina. She has moved to Lux. I've come in to Dyna,
simple!"
"Not every newcomer gets to represent one of the highest-selling soaps in
the country," she said.
What was it like shooting the campaign, specially since it required Sonakshi,
who made her debut as a village belle, to get into a bathtub?
"It was good fun. The team was excellent and the shoot went off smoothly.
I wasn't the least self-conscious about the way it was shot. It's a very aesthetically shot ad. It was completely in my comfort zone," she said.

K

angna Ranaut has decided to get inked, that
too on her bosom. The actor says, when her
Mr Right comes along she'll get his name
tattooed on her chest. Her inspiration is her rather
wild character in the upcoming film Tanu Weds Manu,
who has a similar tattoo.
In the film, Kangna plays Tanu, a small-town
bindaas girl who openly mouths Hindi expletives and loves to drink and smoke. Tanu gets
her boyfriend's name (Awasthi) tattooed on
her chest and proudly flaunts it to scandalize
actor R Madhavan who plays Manu, an
NRI. Kangna had to sport a henna tattoo
for nearly three months while shooting
for the film.
"That's because I had to get it retouched a few times to maintain the
continuity," the actor laughs adding
that she has made up her mind to get a
permanent tattoo once she finds her
true love.
When asked about Deepika
Padukone's predicament after breaking up
with Ranbir Kapoor, whose initials she
had tattooed on her nape, Ranaut says,
"I think getting a tattoo of the one you
love is great. So when I know for sure
that I have found that special someone, I will. And why not?"

26

India Post

SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service

A

s humans go, especially in this
increasingly fluid world of selfisolation and evolving personal
and professional relationships, we are all

www.indiapost.com

February 25, 2011

haps aided by disillusionment with her
own space in her part of the world). What
the reader gets, as a consequence, is a
wealth of information woven around human stories about a country that was
shielded from the world until recently and
its transition to democracy after a cen-

entitled to a midlife crisis. While a midlife tury of monarchy when its beloved king
crisis in itself is as common as a common abdicated the throne.
cold, surely, it comes custom-designed
Napoli's adventure - whether it was unin each individual's life, and is perhaps derstanding the profusion of phalluses
more pronounced if one happens to be a as decoration (to ward of envy!), the
workaholic, forty-someBhutanese love of spicy
thing single woman in the
BOOK REVIEW food, their resistance to
disillusioning world of
have their country bemedia in a big city like Los Angeles.
come a democracy as much as their zealAnd such and so is a near description ousness in preserving their cultural heriof the phase author Lisa Napoli, a LA- tage; or understanding her own role in
based public radio journalist was stuck the creation of a free press as an essenin - that is until a chance meeting with a tial tool for a nascent democracy - is a
handsome stranger took her packing half feast of sights, colors, senses and warmth
a world away to the tiny kingdom tucked away in the
What she wants the readers to get
Himalayas - Bhutan. The result: Radio Shangri-La: What out of the book most is to learn about
I learned in Bhutan, the HapBhutan and all its strange and
piest Kingdom on Earth.
Whoever heard of wonderful quirks and charms; to
Bhutan anywayâ&#x20AC;Ś especially look at Bhutan's stage of developon this side of the Atlantic?
Which is why, when Napoli ment today and think about what's
volunteered to help launch happened socially and technologithe country's first youth-oriented radio station, she cally in the US over the last 100 years
found her journey gave her
much more than unprecedented access that make the reader want to take the next
to a culture largely unknown to West- flight into Bhutan or at least have a midlife
erners - it proved to be personally trans- crisis-busting adventure of one's own.
formative, taking her back to that magiBhutan was considered to be the "the
cal place again and again.
last Buddhist Kingdom", cut off from the
It starts with the possible cynicism of world until television was introduced in
helping bring the modern media to a coun- the country for the first time in 1999. To
try that measures its success in terms of this day, Bhutan manages to keep un"Gross National Happiness" rather than wanted outsiders away by charging a
in GDP. Although conflicted, the author minimum $200-a day tourist tariff, that
goes with an impressively open mind (per- makes it a destination for only the most

Lisa Napoli

for Bhutan. "As a former technology journalist and a devoted student of early 20th
century US history, I find what's happening in Bhutan a merge of my favorite subjects: the impact of technology and development on how we live. But there's also
something about the openness of the
people I met there, and the rhythm of life
there even as media and technology encroach."
Perhaps the most significant transformation that country brought in her was
the realization that she couldn't sit behind
a desk and file 60-second stories all day
anymore.
But what she wants the readers to get
out of the book most is to learn about
Bhutan and all its strange and wonderful
quirks and charms; to look at Bhutan's
stage of development today and think
about what's happened socially and technologically in the US over the last 100
years, its impact on our lives and how we
relate to one another; to think about how
small the planet really is, how connected

A market scene in Bhutan

dedicated and discerning travelers.
In a promotional conversation, Napoli says of
why the radio station was launched in Bhutan that
she helped build. "After years of monarchy, the
country was transitioning to a democratic form of
government. A radio station was an essential tool
for democracy, especially since its focus was the
youth, who comprise the majority of the population. Which is funny, because as our media infrastructure crumbles here in the US, who knows how
that'll impact our own long-standing democracy?
I think about this all the time as I watch my chosen
profession go through a major meltdown."
The irony of being fed up of the American media, but going to another country to help launch a
media outlet is never lost on the author.
For Napoli, the profoundness of the Bhutan
experience, she says, had to do with her own state
of mind, her hunger for a change; but partly also,
because it was a fascinating time of development

we all are, and to encourage them to experience it, if they choose.
"But mostly what I hope a reader sees
is how many exciting things there are for
them to do in the world, right where they
live, to help others, to make the most of
our days. Isn't that what everyone craves
- meaning, purpose and connectedness?"
Before reading the book, one is inclined
to unfairly wonder if this is yet another
'Eat, Pray Love' kind of privileged-American-looking of 'happiness and meaning' in
the obscurity of a third world getaway. But
mercifully, Napoli gives us more than just
insights into her existential crisis to understand a contemporary geo-political
revolution that is at once a result of modern technology and a people's aspirations.
[Radio Shangri-La: What I learned in
Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth,

February 25, 2011

India Post

27

www.indiapost.com

Shankar Mahadevan launches online music Academy
Yahoo! and Dell, it is designed to making
structured curriculum-based education more
interactive and tailored to each person's
abilities. Central to learning at the Academy is the OM Book, or Online Music Book,
a unique tool that allows students to practice and learn on their own time, and at their
own pace, before attending weekly virtual
classes with their teacher.

Shankar Mahadevan
India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Shankar Mahadevan, popular Indian singer and composer, and Clood
On, a provider of virtual learning software,

are ushering in a new era for classical and
modern Indian music instruction with the
launch of the Shankar Mahadevan Academy
(www.shankarmahadevanacademy.com).
The Academy helps Indians in the US
gain easy to access high quality music instruction from the convenience of home, at
their own pace for the first time.
Courses will be offered in a variety of
styles including Hindustani, Carnatic,
Bollywood, folk and devotional to appeal to
both serious aspirants as well as those who

NEW YORK: Varli magazine, a publication dedicated to news and reviews on Indian cuisine, is bringing a ground-breaking
Indian culinary event - the Varli Food Festival - in New York City.
This one of a kind, culinary experience
will be held April 7, 2011 at the Altman Building in the heart of Chelsea in Manhattan.
Featuring over 30 Indian restaurants from
New York City and 10 award winning celebrity chefs, the Varli Food Festival promises
to be an exciting experience for food lovers.
The event will feature food and dessert
tastings from some of the finest Indian restaurants including Tamarind, Devi, Junoon,
Pranna, Tulsi and many others along with over
a dozen delicious stations of desserts, pastries, wine and liquor. Wine parings, full bar,
live music and entertainment, cooking demonstrations by world-renowned celebrity

chefs are also part of the Varli Food Festival.
India's most beloved celebrity chef
Sanjeev Kapoor, who hosts the popular
cooking show 'Khana Khazana', will also
indulge guests with a live cooking show
during the Festival. Besides Kapoor, other
participating chefs include Floyd Cardoz,
Vikas Khanna, Jehangir Mehta (former, runner up on "The Next Iron Chef') Hemant
Mathur, Prasad Chirnomula, Hari Nayak,
Maneet Chauhan (former, contestant on

The event will feature food
and dessert tastings from
some of the finest Indian
restaurants including Tamarind, Devi, Junoon, Pranna,
Tulsi and many others along
with over a dozen delicious
stations of desserts, pastries, wine and liquor
'The Next Iron Chef'), Walter D'Rozario and
Peter Beck.
Other exciting things lined up for the
evening include cook-book signing by select chefs, and a Documentary of Indian
Cuisines.
A silent auction for charity will include
a variety of restaurant gift certificates,
private
cooking
classes with the chefs
and more.
Varli magazine has
linked up the Food
Bank for New York
City and will be donating 10% of the proceeds from ticket
sales, cookbook sales and 100% of proceeds from the silent auction to the charity. Tickets are priced at $100 which will
include full access to the Varli Food Festival along with a Gift Certificates book
worth over $500 in discounts at the participating restaurants.
The Varli Brand includes Varli magazine,
the V CARD, a card providing dining discounts and exclusive deals at participating
Indian restaurants, and Varli Online.

want to explore their artistic inclinations for
fun. In fact, the whole premise of the online
classroom is built around a "fun" concept so
as to make the process of learning both enriching and interesting. However, this is not
done at the expense of the instructional element - all teachers will be selected and endorsed by Shankar Mahadevan, and the
Academy provides a structured, high-quality curriculum with certification.
"The traditional process of learning classical music can be too serious and intimidating for many people who want to learn.
Our objective with the Academy is to make
music learning a fun and rewarding journey
for all, without compromising on the quality of the curriculum and instruction. I'm
excited to see more people -both adults and
children - share in my love of learning Indian music," said Shankar Mahadevan.
The technology behind the Academy is
especially suited for such a venture. Developed by Clood On, a provider of virtual learning software founded by executives from

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The traditional process of
learning classical music can
be too serious and intimidating for many people who
want to learn. Our objective
with the Academy is to
make music learning a funâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
"The technology developed by us for
the Academy - especially the OM Book - is
intended to make this process of music
learning fun and convenient, and to make it
accessible to thousands of Indians in the
U.S., who until now had little or no options,"
said Sridhar Ranganathan, co-founder and
CEO of Shankar Mahadevan Academy.
Shankar Mahadevan Academy was
founded under the guidance and leadership
of the award-winning composer and singer
Shankar Mahadevan. The Academy is a
joint venture between Shankar Mahadevan
and Clood On, a provider of virtual learning
software founded by executives from Yahoo and Dell.

28

India Post

February 25, 2011
www.indiapost.com

Indian contemporary art
on display in Atlanta
ters gazing back, men and women inhabiting spaces urban and rural, kneeling bodies meditating and praying. India's modern
and contemporary art affirms that the modern is global.
"These works celebrate everyday life
in South Asia and its diasporas, from the
most mundane moments to the most transcendent," said curator Dr. Rebecca M.
Brown, author of Art for a Modern India,
1947-1980 (Duke University Press, 2009)
and visiting Associate Professor in the
History of Art and Political Science at
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore,
Maryland. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for museum visitors to connect
with the art of modern India."
Collection of Shelley and Donald Rubin
India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Oglethorpe University
Museum of Art in Atlanta will be holding a
first-of-its-kind exhibition-Goddess, Lion,
Peasant, Priest: Modern and Contemporary
Indian Art from the Collection of Shelley
and Donald Rubin, March 15 to May 15.
This is the first public display of this
collection of more than 50 works from 28 of
India's most famous artists, including
Francis Newton Souza, Sakti Burman, and
Seema Kohli.
Shelley and Donald Rubin, passionate
collectors of Himalayan art for over 30 years,
are the founders of the Rubin Museum of
Art in New York City. Rubin is an Oglethorpe
alumnus who graduated in 1956.
With imagery from all walks of life, from
the poorest citizens to dynamic deities, the
works of Goddess, Lion, Peasant, Priest focus on India's people: individual charac-

‘These works celebrate
everyday life in South Asia
and its diasporas, from the
most mundane moments to
the most transcendent,’
said curator Dr. Rebecca
M. Brown, author of Art
for a Modern India
Additional special events in conjunction with the exhibit will be announced.
All events will be held in the OU Museum
of Art.
Founded in 1835, Oglethorpe University
enrolls 1,100 students from 34 states and 28
countries, and is Georgia's only coeducational member of the Annapolis Group, an
organization of America's most selective liberal arts institutions.

Stamps on six legendary actresses

Meena Kumari

Nutan

NEW DELHI: A set of six stamps on six
legendary actresses of Indian cinema has
been released at the world philatelic exhibition here.
The actresses who have been honored are Meena Kumari, Nutan, Kanan
Devi, Devika Rani, Leela Naidu and
Savitri Devi. The stamps were released
by Minister of State for Communication
and Information Technology Gurudas
Kamat here.
India Post had earlier honored actors
Madhubala, Nargis, Guru Dutt and Raj

Devika Rani

Kanan Devi

Kapoor, singers K.L. Saigal, Mukesh,
Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi,
Hemant Kumar and Begum Akhtar, and
directors Dadasaheb Phalke, Satyajit Ray
and Bimal Roy.
Legendary heroines of yesteryears Asha
Parekh and Vyjayanthimala Bali graced the
occasion and remembered the actresses and
work culture of those days.
The minister also released a coffee
table book 'Pigeon to Post' by Steve
Borgia on Indian postal history on these
occasion.-Agencies

NEW YORK: Akshay Kumar's
latest blockbuster, Patiala House
has in its opening weekend
grossed $1.8 million approximately
at the overseas box-office, also
continuing a strong showing on
weekdays, B4U announced.
Patiala House emerged a highgrosser in the US, the UK and Canadian territories demonstrating
Akshay Kumar's ability to connect
with the Non-Resident Indians.
"Audience reaction to Patiala
House has been extremely encouraging. With Akshay's huge fan
base overseas, we were confident
that Patiala House would be a big
draw," said Sunil Shah, head of
B4U's film division. "Akshay's
departure from boisterous comic
roles to play a more serious British Asian character in this poignant family drama has been appreciated by critics and audiences;
with the opening weekend fol-

lowed by the forthcoming ICC
cricket world cup teamed with
Akshay's star power, we are looking forward to the film's positive
run at the box-office."

‘With Akshay's huge
fan base overseas,
we were confident
that Patiala House
would be a big draw,’
said Sunil Shah
Directed by Nikhil Advani, the
film also stars Anushka Sharma,
Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and
debutant Hard Kaur. The film follows the story of the Kahlon family, focusing particularly on the
relationship between Parghat
Singh Kahlon aka Gattu played by
Akshay Kumar and his father,
played by Rishi Kapoor.

S

rinagar is the summer capital of the state of Jammu
and Kashmir and is the pride of the beautiful
valley of Kashmir. Srinagar is famous for its lakes
and the charming rows of houseboats floating on them.
It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts
and dry fruits .
Location: Srinagar is located in the western part of
the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in the northern region
of India. It is located in the Kashmir valley. River Jhelum
passes through Srinagar city. Srinagar is 876 km north
of Delhi. The weather in Srinagar is alpine. Summers
(April-June) are mild and winters are cold (NovemberFebruary). It experiences heavy snowfall in December-February.
Best time to visit: The best time to visit Srinagar is
during summers between April and June.
History: The history of the Kashmir valley has been
turbulent. In the 3rd century BC, it was a part of the
great Mauryan Empire. Later on, this region flourished
under the rule of the Kushans in the 1st century AD. It
was an important Buddhist center around this time. In
the 6th century, it was a part of the kingdom of
Vikramaditya, the ruler of Ujjain.

29 India Post

www.indiapost.com

February 25, 2011

Srinagar is famous for its
lakes and the charming
rows of houseboats floating
on them. It is also known for
traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dry fruits
Local Hindu rulers ruled it until the 14th century,
after which Muslims invaded and ruled it. Srinagar
was a part of the Mughal Empire in the medieval period. However, with the decline of the Mughal Empire
and the rule of the Pathans, the fortunes of the area
gradually dwindled. In 1814, it became a part of the
Sikh empire, when Ranjit Singh defeated the Pathans.
However, the British defeated Ranjit Singh and according to the treaty of Lahore in 1846, they installed
Gulab Singh as the independent ruler of Kashmir. The
descendents of Gulab Singh ruled Kashmir under the
vigilance of the British till 1947. Hari Singh, the great
grandson of Gulab Singh, merged this princely state
into India in 1948, when Pathan marauders from Pakistan tried to overrun this state.
Tourist attractions
The valley of Kashmir, in which Srinagar is located,
is also referred to as being a heaven on earth. The

Mughal emperor Jahangir was so captivated by the beauty of
this valley that he exclaimed "Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin
asto, hamin asto, hamin asto" (If there is a heaven on earth,
it's here, it's here, it's here). There are a number of tourist
places in and around Srinagar.
The Dal Lake is an important tourist attraction of Srinagar.
It is located on the eastern end of the city. The Dal Lake comprises a series of lakes, including the Nagin Lake some 8 km
from the city center. One can enjoy the panoramic view of the
mountains surrounding Srinagar from this lake. Travelers can
enjoy taking a ride on traditional Kashmiri boats or the Shikaras
to explore the intricate maze of waterways of this lake.
The other major attractions of Srinagar city are the well laid
out Mughal styled gardens. The Shalimar Bagh and the Nishat
Bagh are beautiful gardens located to the far eastern side of
the Dal Lake. One can take a stroll amongst these green and
attractive gardens and enjoy the waterworks within them.

The temple of Shankaracharya is another important place
to visit in Srinagar. Jaluka, the son of emperor Ashoka, built it
in the 3rd century BC.
Places around
There are number of interesting places to visit near
Srinagar. Most of these places are located amongst picturesque settings of the mighty Himalayas. Apart from natural
beauty, they offer a number of adventure activities to the
traveler.
Gulmarg is 52 km southeast of Srinagar and is located at
an altitude of 2730 meters above sea level. In summers, the
meadows of Gulmarg are laden with flowers. In winters, the
snow-covered slopes of Gulmarg turn into a skiing resort,
which attracts the traveler seeking adventure and thrill. It is a
popular trekking destination and boasts of the world's highest golf course.
Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 30

30

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

Project Tiger under threat in Kaziranga
GUWAHATI: Implementation of Project
Tiger in the Kaziranga National Park has
been threatened by protests by stakeholders of the tourism and hotel industry, who
fear it would adversely affect their livelihood.
Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association and
the Kaziranga Resort Association with support of 20 other organizations had recently
sent a memorandum to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Union Environment
Minister Jairam Ramesh demanding withdrawal of Project Tiger from the KNP.
"We are opposed to the government's
decision to make Kaziranga a tiger reserve
in the greater interest of people living in the
park's vicinity as it will have a direct impact
on their lives and livelihood," said the president of the Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association, Punen Gogoi.
Gogoi said Kaziranga is famous for the onehorn Rhino and the government should take
steps for its protection and conservation.
"We had also welcomed the
government's initiative to conserve tigers
under Project Tiger, but we never supported
the move to turn Kaziranga into a tiger reserve as the subsequent restrictions would
severely affect tourism and other businesses," Gogoi said.
The park's authorities, however, have
clarified that it was a 'misconception in the
minds of the people due to lack of awareness that has led to this kind of protests'.
Park director Surajit Dutta said the fears

were unfounded and that the Project would
instead help preserve the habitat and different species there.
Dutta said the apprehension of the people
related with the tourism sector that the hotels and human habitations in the fringe areas would be affected by Project Tiger were
unfounded.
"The Project Tiger, like the Elephant Reserve scheme of 2005, would also help in
the socio-economic development of the

park was handed over by the Revenue department only recently.
The park is one of the best protected
parks in the world and the people living in
the vicinity and engaged in tourism sector
need not worry about losing their land or
job to the Project Tiger, Dutta said.
The Jeep Safari Association had also alleged that some NGOs were involved in creating problems for the locals by forcing the government to create a tiger reserve in the park to

"We had also welcomed the government's initiative to
conserve tigers under Project Tiger, but we never supported the move to turn Kaziranga into a tiger reserve as
the subsequent restrictions would severely affect tourism
and other businesses," Gogoi said
adjoining areas of the park and tourism
would grow," he said.
He appealed to all concerned to understand the basic fact that the protection of
10 km radius of eco-sensitive zone under
Environment Protection Act, 1986, has nothing to do with Project Tiger.
After 1985 no fresh proposal for inclusion of land in the fringe areas of KNP has
been taken and major portion of the six additions (measuring about 6.47 sq. km) to the

further their own interests.
Aaranyak's secretary-general Bibhab
Kumar Talukdar said his organization has always been supportive of eco-friendly tourism and believes that its benefits should reach
most of the villages around the park and tourism activities promoted uniformly in all its five
ranges including the north bank range.
Talukdar said the visitors to the sprawling and resourceful national park should be
encouraged to enjoy all corners of the park

Assam bid to preserve lone rain forest
DIBRUGARH, Assam: In a bid
to conserve India's easternmost
rainforest here, home to seven wildcat species, authorities are trying
to promote the wildlife preserve as
an eco-tourism destination by involving the local populace.
The first Rainforest Festival is
being held on the banks of the
Burhidihing at Jeypore in this district and tourists, including foreigners, have thronged in large

Recently, seven wildcat species
were captured on camera in the
Jeypore rainforest by a wildlife biologist during a survey by the
Wildlife Conservation Society. Various species of valuable trees like
are also found in the forest.
DFO Anurag Singh says the
primary aim of the festival is to
highlight the importance of
rainforests.
"Our aim is to develop an exem-

The rainforest and Dilli reserve forest combine to
be the only rainforest area in the state spread
across the three upper Assam's districts of
Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar comprising a
total area of 575 sq km. The forest is listed to be
the last lowland forests under the Assam valley
wet evergreen forest area in the region
numbers.
The Jeypore rainforest is home
to a number of wildlife species, including many endangered ones.
So far, 46 species of mammals, 283
species of birds, 276 varieties of
butterflies, 102 species of orchids,
71 species of reptiles and amphibians, 70 species of fishes and
nearly 40 species of dragonflies
and damselflies have been recorded there.

plary eco-tourism roadmap for
Jeypore. And for this purpose,
community-based eco-tourism is
the best option," Singh told PTI.
According to him, this kind of
festivals also gives lot of opportunities to the local people.
"The local people have taken
an active part in the festival. They
have put up over 100 stalls of
handicrafts, artefacts, bamboo
products, pickles and ethnic food.

Festivals like these help in a long
way in generating employment at
the local level," he says.
To promote the rainforest and
attract tourists, Singh says, some
long-term measures will be
adopted like more accommodation
units, involvement of locals and
awareness programs.
Over these days, the festival
has seen the participation of
myriad of ethnic groups showcasing their ethnic culture,
dresses and food habits. Elephant
safaris, trekking, seminars were
also a hit.
The other highlights of the
festival were display of customary dresses, display of cultural
heritage of the local people living
in and around these areas, tools,
ornaments used by different tribal
groups and display of the history
of forest, wildlife and their association with local people in their
lives.
The rainforest and Dilli reserve
forest combine to be the only
rainforest area in the state spread
across the three upper Assam's
districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh
and Sivasagar comprising a total
area of 575 sq km. The forest is
listed to be the last lowland forests under the Assam valley wet
evergreen forest area in the region. -PTI

within the designated tourist areas.
"Flourishing tourism activities have provided livelihood opportunities to fringe villagers in Kaziranga Park and sustainable
tourism shall inculcate deep-rooted commitment in the minds of tourists and general
public towards conservation of flora and
fauna in Kaziranga," he said.
The ongoing census of tigers using camera traps in Kaziranga National Park was
initiated in 2009 by Aaranyak in collaboration with the authority in the park after it
had been declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.
"The objective of the research was to
bring out information on number of tigers
using modern scientific techniques and the
initial findings has already put the
Kaziranga in the global focus in respect of
successful conservation of habitats that
supports tigers along with one-horned rhinos and other species," he said.
During the ongoing census of tigers, the
park authorities had given all possible logistic support to the team and there is no
financial collaboration between the two institutions as alleged by some people,
Talukdar asserted.
KNP is the only park of its kind with a
viable low land grassland ecosystem in
south Asia and for its long-term sustainable development all stakeholders such as
the government, non-governmental organizations, service providers, local people
and the tourists should work together,
Dutta felt. -PTI

Indians among top
tourists in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia
received highest number of tourists from India in 2010 as the
country's tourism revenue was put
at 56.49 billion ringgit, more than
the targeted 55.5 billion ringgit,
Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen has

Russia (9.8 per cent), Australia (8.9
per cent) and Japan (5.1 per cent).
"Never before in our history,
have we achieved so much with
so little," Ng Yen Yen said.
She said tourism would reach
new heights this year with the pro-

"Never before in our
history, have we
achieved so much
with so little," Ng
Yen Yen said.
She said tourism
would reach new
heights this year
with the proposal to
train foreign tour
guides to lead
tourists in Malaysia
Malaysia tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen

said.
The target of 24 million tourist
arrivals was also surpassed by
577,000. The tourists were mainly
from India (17 per cent), South
Korea (16 per cent), Middle East
(14 per cent), China (10 per cent),

posal to train foreign tour guides
to lead tourists in Malaysia.
"This will improve the capacity
of tourism operators because tourists will be able to communicate
with the help of their multilingual
guides," she said. -PTI

February 25, 2011

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post

31

www.indiapost.com

India govt guidelines for
wellness centers
NEW DELHI: In order to promote wellness tourism, the Indian
government has issued guidelines
for defining the roadmap for the
industry as well as accreditation
of wellness centers in the country.
"The guidelines will be applicable to all wellness centers across
the country," Tourism Minister
Subodh Kant Sahai said here at a
workshop on wellness tourism.
The new guidelines would be
looking into aspects of functioning of wellness centers like identifying and correcting unhygienic
service delivery practices and laying down a system for continuous monitoring of quality of services being provided.
Defining the concept of
wellness, Sahai said, "It has been
interpreted from several perspectives and we in India should relate it to our ancient system of living the tradition that is still preserved namely the constant, conscious pursuit of living life to its
fullest in harmony with the environment."
He said India has an ancient
heritage of healing but is facing
severe competition from several
destinations who are positioning
themselves as leading destinations for wellness tourism. "We
should put our acts together and
promote wellness tourism aggressively in the international and
domestic markets," he added.
Making a distinction between
the health and the wellness aspects, Minister said medical tourism involves those visitors with
medical conditions who travel for

treatment of ailments.
A person who travels for
wellness is generally healthy but
seeks therapies to maintain his or
her well-being.
The accreditation standards
are prepared by National Accreditation Standards for Hospitals
and Healthcare providers and approved by Department of
AYUSH. Only the accredited ser-

providing to ensure uniform pricing policy, as per the guidelines.
Taking note of mushrooming
of massage parlors, Sahai said,
"There should be a mechanism to
check whether all prescribed
norms are being followed or not."
On the implementation of guidelines, he said, "I think it should be
mandatory as we are dealing directly with tourists and they

Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai

vice providers would be eligible
for any assistance from Tourism
Ministry.
Among others, the guidelines
will also look into the hygienic issue to prevent catching infections from the staff or the other
customers by ensuring cleaning
and disinfection practices for
linen and equipment.
Centers have to display services and tariff list that the spa is

should have good experience.
"But initially we are seeking
voluntary implementation. Later
on we may opt for enforcing the
guidelines."
The Ministry is developing
Haridwar-Rishikesh as well as
Puducherry as wellness centers to
give visitors a complete experience
which is physically healing, spirituality enriching and mentally rejuvenating. -PTI

Srinagar: The pride of Kashmir Valley
Cont’d from page 29

Sonamarg is 80 km northeast
of Srinagar and is located at an altitude of 2740 meters. It is set in a
valley amongst glaciers and placid
lakes. The flower-laden meadows,

Srinagar and is located in the quiet
Liddar valley, at a height of 2130
m. It provides an ideal setting for
activities like hiking, trekking and
fishing. It is also the starting point
of the annual pilgrimage to the holy
cave of Amarnath.

As Kashmir is the only state in India where walnut trees grow, craftsmen here create intricate
carvings on walnut wood to make items like
tables, chairs, stools, fruit bowls, partitions,
etc., that have rich floral and trellis patterns
carved on them
panoramic view of the lofty snowcovered Himalayan peaks, and a
number of trekking and hiking
trails have made Sonamarg a popular tourist destination.
Pahalgam is 95 km east of

The handicrafts repertoire of
Kashmir is incomplete without
woolen shawls and woodcarving.
Travelers can purchase richly embroidered woolen shawls in all colors and intricate designs in

Srinagar.
Apart from regular woolen
shawls, one can also buy Pashmina
shawls (made from the hair of ibex)
and shahtoosh shawls (made from
the hair of the Tibetan antelope),
which are highly valued shawls
made in Kashmir. As Kashmir is the
only state in India where walnut
trees grow, craftsmen here create
intricate carvings on walnut wood
to make items like tables, chairs,
stools, fruit bowls, partitions, etc.,
that have rich floral and trellis patterns carved on them.
How to reach
Air - Srinagar is well connected
by air with Delhi.
Road - It is well connected by
road to important places like
Chandigarh (630 km), Delhi (876
km), Jammu (298 km), Leh, Kargil,
Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and
Pahalgam.

Pyramid guides urge
tourists to return to Egypt
CAIRO: Hundreds of Egyptian
tour guides gathered in the
shadow of the Sphinx and the
Great Pyramids to urge tourists to
return to the country following the
fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime.
The upheaval of recent weeks
and media coverage of days of
violent clashes have combined to
scare off visitors and stifle Egypt's
key tourism industry, threatening
thousands of jobs.
Inspired by the success of political protests in bringing down
the regime, workers in several public and private sector industries
have launched a wave of strikes
to demand pay rises.
But the message from tourism
workers was simpler.
The guides - whose business
has been badly hit by the crisis gathered at the Giza Plateau site,
bearing Egyptian flags and banners in English, French, Russian
and German reading: "Egypt loves
you."
One by one, the guides
mounted a tribune to plead for tourists to return in a variety of languages.
Behind them a handful of Egyptian visitors were at the site, but
there were no foreigners to be seen
and Cairo's hotels and gift shops
stand empty.

"We need to make tourism
come back to Egypt. We want to
send the message to tourists all
over the world that they are welcome here. They will discover a
new country and new people",
said 27-year-old Hossam Khairy.

The guides - whose
business has been
badly hit by the crisis gathered at the Giza
Plateau site, bearing
Egyptian flags and
banners in English,
French, Russian and
German reading:
"Egypt loves you." One
by one, the guides
mounted a tribune to
plead for tourists to
return in a variety of
languages
Khairy was one of the tens of
thousands of protesters who seized
central Cairo's Tahrir Square and
occupied it for two weeks as part of
the nationwide demonstrations that
bought down Mubarak. -AFP

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In Brief
New laws crack
down on SoCal
immigration
LOS ANGELES: Five Riverside
county cities are cracking down
on illegal immigrants as their unemployment rates soar.
Last month, Temecula,
Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Menifee
and Norco began requiring businesses to check the immigration
status of new workers through the
federal E-Verify database. Employers that don't can lose their business licenses.
Murrieta plumber Pablo Haro
approves of the crackdown. He
tells the Los Angeles Times that
the construction crash has hurt
the job market and it's hard to compete with illegal immigrants who
will work for tiny wages.
However, nearby cities have
chosen not to adopt such ordinances and some analysts contend
that the laws are inspired more by
the towns' political conservatism
than their job situations.
Critics, meanwhile, say the law
will just prompt employers to pay
workers under the table. -AP

Daniels keeping
quiet on Ind.
immigration bill
INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Gov.
Mitch Daniels isn't saying how he
feels about a proposal moving in
the Legislature that would require
police officers in the state to enforce federal immigration laws.
The sponsor of the bill approved by a state Senate committee says it's aimed at having an
Arizona-style crackdown on illegal immigration.
Daniels told reporters that he
wasn't taking a public stance on
the bill, saying its provisions were
still in flux.
Supporters of the legislation
say it's needed because the federal government has failed to enforce immigration laws and that
states are forced to spend millions
of dollars on providing health care,
education and other services for
illegal immigrants.
Opponents fear it could lead to
racial profiling and cast the state
as intolerant. -AP

Tenn. lawmakers
hoping to pass
immigration reform
NASHVILLE, Tenn.: State
lawmakers concerned with illegal immigration are introducing
everything from an Arizonastyle enforcement bill to requirements that drivers license
exams be in English.
Details on page 36

Immigration
34

India Post

www.indiapost.com

February 25, 2011

Martinez seeks
public help on
immigrant licenses
SANTA FE, N.M.: Republican
Gov. Susana Martinez moved to try
to increase pressure on the Democratic-controlled Legislature to
scrap a law allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses.
Details on page 36

n the wake of the closing down
of the "sham" Tri-Valley University, which has rendered
many F-1 students out of status,
ICE has issued guidance to universities that enroll F-1 students
via SEVIS regarding how to facilitate the transfer. The document
was posted in AILA InfoNet on
February 8, 2011 (AILA InfoNet
Doc. No. 11020863).
Many of the students who were
enrolled at Tri-Valley were unwitting victims, and ought to be able
to transfer their F-1 status to other
schools, or be able to change to
another nonimmigrant visa status,
such as H-4 or H-1B (if the individual is not subject to the current H-1B FY 2011 cap). The DHS
gives discretion to its officers to
approve applications for change
of status even where the individual
has failed to maintain status due
to "extraordinary circumstances,"
and a student who has been
caught in this predicament ought
to be invoke favorable discretion
under 8 C.F.R. section 248.1(b).
It is good news that DHS has
issued guidance that would facilitate the transfer of F-1 status to
another legitimate school. Al-

though the guidance is vaguely
worded, it seems to suggest that
if a new school accepts a student
for admission from Tri-Valley, the
designated school official must
contact the SEVIS help desk before creating a SEVIS record and a
determination may be made on a
case by case basis. While the
guidance could have been more
clear, it appears to create a procedure for a student from Tri-Valley
to transfer to another school in
F-1 status.

fer-in student records associated
with Tri-Valley University (TVU)
in Pleasanton, California.
Students enrolled at TVU and
those who entered the United
States but have not enrolled at TVU
are unable to maintain F-1 status.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF
SCHOOL OFFICIALS
If a former TVU student applies
for acceptance at a school, consider
the following while following normal admissions procedures:
1. School officials must obtain

Many of the students who were enrolled
at Tri-Valley were unwitting victims, and
ought to be able to transfer their F-1
status to other schools
To:
All SEVIS Users
Date: February 7, 2011
Re: Consideration of Former F1 Students from Tri-Valley University for Enrollment
Number: 1101-02
On January 18, 2011, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program
(SEVP) either cancelled or terminated all initial, active and trans-

an enrollment application and all
subsidiary documents typically
requested in order to make an admissions decision, including an
assessment of the student's finances, and they must maintain
these documents in the F-1
student's academic record.
2. If a student gains admission,
a designated school official
should contact the SEVP Help

Georgia illegal immigrant
student indicted
MARIETTA, Ga.: A Cobb
County grand jury has indicted a
Georgia college student and illegal immigrant on a felony charge
of making a false statement.
The Marietta Daily Journal reports that Kennesaw State University student Jessica Colotl gave
deputies a false address and telephone number when she was being booked after an arrest.
Colotl's case sparked a larger
debate on illegal immigration in the
state after she was stopped for a
minor traffic violation last spring,
arrested for driving without a license and nearly deported.
District Attorney Pat Head said
his office pursued the indictment

``because we believe the evidence was sufficient to present
to a grand jury.''
The case has been assigned to
Cobb County superior court judge
Mary Staley, but no trial date has
been set.
If Colotl is convicted, she likely
won't get a harsh sentence. Probation is common in such cases,
Head said.
Colotl was arrested March 30,
a day after her traffic stop, when
she still could not produce a
driver's license. The Cobb County
jail participates in a federal-local
partnership program, called
287(g), that allows trained deputies to check an inmate's immigra-

tion status and flag them for federal authorities if they are in the
country illegally.
She was handed over to federal immigration authorities on
April 1 and sent to a detention
center in Alabama.
Her case got media after members of her sorority from different
universities wore their Lambda
Theta Alpha gear and carried signs
saying they were marching to support Colotl at an immigration rally
at the state Capitol May 1.
The ACLU said it contacted
DHS on her behalf and Kennesaw
State said it was ``actively engaged
in intervening on her behalf on
several fronts.'' -AP

Desk at 800-892-4829 or
SEVIShelpdesk@hp.com to manage the student record. Do not initiate a new SEVIS record for the
student.
3. Employment authorization for
F-1 students at TVU terminated
January 19, 2011.
ICE has posted an announcement on its website, http://
www.ice.gov/sevis/tri-valley110118.htm, asking TVU students
to contact a number, 703-603-3400,
and be prepared to provide first
and last name, SEVIS ID#, address, telephone number and e
mail address, dates of attendance
at TVU and level and major of
study at TVU. The notice goes
on to state, "When you call, SEVP
will provide you with your options including the options to
depart from the United States
without an otherwise possibly
applicable bar to re-admission in
the future."
One should also review the
NAFSA interpretation on the
SEVP guidance regarding transfers of F-1 of former TVU students,
available at http://www.nafsa.org/
r e s o u r c e l i b r a r y /
default.aspx?id=24805
Our office has called the SEVP
number given by ICE in their release and has been advised that
according to the script provided
by ICE, former Tri-Valley students
have three options.
One, they can file for reinstatement as students on Form I-539. The
suggestion seems to be that this
should be done electronically, since
we were directed to the http://
www.uscis.gov/e-filing website. Implicitly required, although this was
not stated by the SEVP representative, is that the reinstatement be in
connection with attendance at a different school, since Tri-Valley is no
longer viable in the view of DHS.
Two, former Tri-Valley students
can voluntarily depart without any
action on the part of ICE.
Three, former Tri-Valley students can report to ICE to be processed for voluntary departure.
* Cyrus D Mehta, may be contacted
at 212-425-0555 or
info@cyrusmehta.com

Immigration Post

February 25, 2011

India Post

35

www.indiapost.com

Colo. lawmakers kill Ariz.-style
immigration bill
DENVER: A Colorado Republican abandoned an attempt to mimic
Arizona's divisive immigration law,
saying he worried legal challenges
would burden taxpayers.
But it's only the first round in
what promises to be a long battle
at the Capitol on illegal immigration, including a similar proposal
pending in the Senate.
Rep. Randy Baumgardner's
House Bill 1107 would have given
law enforcement the authority to
arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally and required people to carry their immigration documents.
Baumgardner asked a legislative
committee to indefinitely postpone his bill, saying that although
the proposal was scaled back,
``we still could not get around
some of the problems in terms of
possible litigation.''
``At this time we just felt like it
was not something that we wanted
to burden the taxpayers with, in
lieu of the way the economy is,''
he said. ``I do believe we do need
to continue to address illegal immigration in our state.''
A House Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources Committee unanimously voted to kill
the bill.
Democrats have said Republicans will face a tough path with their
illegal immigration proposals in the
Senate, where Democrats have a 2015 majority. Republicans have a onevote majority in the House.

Republican Sen. Kent Lambert
is carrying a bill that, like
Baumgardner's proposal, would
give law enforcement the authority to arrest people suspected of
being in the country illegally. Lambert said he plans to proceed with
his bill and Republican Rep. David
Balmer promised to support the
proposal if it gets to the House.
Lambert's bill is scheduled to
be heard in a Senate committee
along with another proposal from
Republican Sen. Ted Harvey that

Arizona copycat
laws would break
the hearts of
thousands of
Coloradoans - families, children, business owners, tourists,'' said Julien Ross
would require nongovernmental
state employers to use E-Verify to
confirm a worker's legal status.
Balmer also vowed to include
elements of Arizona-style legislation into one of his bills if Republican proposals fail along the way.
Balmer is sponsoring a bill that
would withhold grants and other
state funding from jurisdictions
that refuse to participate in the
federal Secure Communities program. The program identifies ille-

gal immigrants through fingerprinting when they're arrested.
The plethora of proposals
prompted dozens of immigrant
rights advocates to rally decrying
the bills at the Capitol. In honor of
Valentine's Day, protesters held
heart-shaped signs that read,
``Racist Laws Break My Heart.''
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arizona copycat laws would
break the hearts of thousands of
Coloradoans - families, children,
business owners, tourists,'' said
Julien Ross, executive director of
the Colorado Immigrant Rights
Coalition. ``We want to keep our
hearts together. We want to keep
love in the air and say no Arizona
copycat laws, yes to a strong Colorado.''
Other pending proposals
would require judges to consider
a person's immigration statues
when setting bail and another bill
that addresses identity theft. Under that bill, people could be
charged with identity theft, even
if they don't know that the information they're using belongs to
another person.
The bill is a response to a state
Supreme Court decision last year
that said a man who used a
stranger's Social Security number
to get a car loan did not commit
criminal impersonation. The Court
said prosecutors must prove that
a person knew he was using another person's identifying information in order to be guilty of criminal impersonation. -AP

Group urges Patrick to reject
immigration checks
BOSTON: Immigrant rights advocates urged Gov. Deval Patrick
not to sign Massachusetts on to a
federal program that checks the
immigration status of people who
are arrested, but the governor said
the state might have no choice in
the matter.
The governor agreed to the meeting with several opponents of the
Secure Communities program for
about 20 minute, after a larger group
gathered outside his office for several hours chanting slogans such as
``Education not deportation.''
The Immigration and Customs
Enforcement program allows
arrestees' fingerprint information to
be checked against FBI criminal history records and biometrics-based
immigration records kept by the Department of Homeland Security.
Defenders of the program say
it only targets immigrants arrested
for committing violent crimes and

is not an effort to enforce federal
immigration laws.
But opponents contend it
would discourage immigrants
from reporting crimes while encouraging police to practice racial
profiling.
Patrick said after the meeting that
while no final decision had been
made, his administration was still
under the impression that the state
could not opt out of the program.
``My understanding is that it
is mandatory, there were some arguments made there that it isn't,''
said Patrick.
``But there are a whole series of
hearings that we are going to be
doing all around the Commonwealth to gather information and
experience and concerns ... and we
will make a decision based on that.''
Asked if he would prefer not to
sign the state on to the program if
he did not have to, the governor

said: ``I don't think that asking our
local law enforcement to enforce a
federal law is the best use of our
time, they have a lot of other things
to do as it is.''
Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, a
Somerville-based immigrant advocacy group, acknowledged that
there was confusion surrounding
Secure Communities but said her
group was convinced that participation by Massachusetts was not
mandatory.
``Massachusetts is one of the
most liberal and progressive states
and now they are saying they
want to sign Secure Communities,''
Montes said. ``That is a contradiction in my opinion.''
Andres Del Castillo, 20, a student at Suffolk University, said
he shared his own personal story
with the governor during the
meeting. -AP

Tenn. lawmakers hoping to
pass immigration reform
NASHVILLE, Tenn.: State lawmakers concerned with illegal immigration are introducing everything from an Arizona-style enforcement bill to requirements that
drivers license exams be in English.
Similar measures in the past
have mostly been killed in the
House. This year, with Republican
majorities in both the House and
Senate, those measures have their
best chance yet of becoming law.
But Republicans are less than united
on what measures to pass and how.
Speaking at a forum sponsored
by The Associated Press and the
Tennessee Press Association,
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey expressed qualified support for requiring employers to use the federal E-Verify program to make sure
their employees are authorized to
work in the U.S.
``My No. 1 goal is to make Tennessee the best place in the nation to own and operate a business,'' he said. ``I want to make
sure we're addressing those illegal immigration problems, but not
putting undue burdens and undue
paperwork on small businesses.''
Ramsey said he didn't want immigration to dominate the session,
and he and Gov. Bill Haslam, also

speaking at the event, both expressed support for a single comprehensive immigration bill, rather
than the dozen or so that have been
filed or announced so far.
But Rep. Joe Carr, chairman of
the House's Taskforce on Illegal
Immigration Reform, said that is not
likely. No one has spoken with him
or House leadership about a single,

Senate Minority
Leader Jim Kyle,
D-Memphis, said in
an interview that the
disagreements reflect
differing priorities
among Republicans
comprehensive bill, he said, and he
is moving forward with plans to
introduce three bills this week.
One would mandate the use of
E-Verify. Another would require
agencies to verify that applicants
for benefits such as food stamps
and in-state tuition are legally in
the country. A third would empower local law enforcement officers, in the course of a stop, to
question suspects on whether

they are legally in the country.
Carr said that last bill will be
different from one approved in
Arizona last year that has been the
subject of a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit, but he will not release any details until it is filed.
Carr said he would consider introducing a single bill if he were assured the support of Haslam and
Ramsey, ``but if this is just a mechanism for watering down the legislation it is not something we are going to be seriously able to entertain.''
Senate Minority Leader Jim
Kyle, D-Memphis, said in an interview that the disagreements reflect differing priorities among
Republicans.
``The tremendous conflict
within the Republican caucus is
those who are up here for social
reasons and those who are up here
for jobs,'' Kyle said.
Although Carr and some other
Republicans argue the immigration
bills will save the state money by
driving out illegal immigrants,
whom they consider a drain on the
economy, many of the state's influential business leaders disagree.
Debby Dale Mason, with the
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, said her group is concerned
about any law that makes it more
difficult for international companies to do business in Tennessee
or makes the state appear
unwelcoming of foreigners.
In 2007, a new Tennessee law
aimed at keeping illegal immigrants
from getting driver's licenses unintentionally left many legal immigrants
suddenly unable to drive, including
some highly skilled workers from
large international companies.
Other immigration-related bills
filed so far include ones that:
Make harboring or transporting
illegal immigrants a felony.
Require parents to show certain
identifying documents before their
children can be issued birth certificates.
Require that all driver's license
exams be given in English.
Require proof of citizenship to
register to vote.
Require photo identification to
vote. -AP

Martinez seeks public help
on immigrant licenses
SANTA FE, N.M.: Republican
Gov. Susana Martinez moved to
try to increase pressure on the
Democratic-controlled Legislature
to scrap a law allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses.
Martinez urged New Mexicans
to call lawmakers and demand an
end to the state's license law for
immigrants. The governor contended it's a security risk to give
driver's licenses to those living illegally in the country.
``Why I encourage people to
call their legislators is because we
have to make sure that the legislators are doing the people's business,'' Martinez said at a news conference.
The governor's comments
came a day after a House committee - on a party-line vote - shelved
what a GOP lawmaker contended
was a compromise to revoke licenses for illegal immigrants but
allow them to have annually renewable driving permits, which
would not serve as a form of identification. Democrats on the committee supported the effort to
bottle up the bill, dooming it for
the session.
Martinez did not support the
bill. Instead she wants legislation
that would stop the licensing practice and cancel the more than
80,000 licenses given so far to foreign nationals. The state contends

it doesn't know how many of the
licenses have gone to illegal immigrants because it does not ask the
immigration status of license applicants.
Rep. Andy Nunez, a Hatch independent, said he's optimistic his
bill to stop licenses for illegal immigrants can clear two committees
and reach the House floor. Sen.
John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, is
sponsoring a similar bill backed by
the governor.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why I encourage
people to call their
legislators is because
we have to make
sure that the legislators are doing the
people's business,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Martinez said
Elsa Lopez of Santa Fe-based
Somos Un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant rights group, said the state's
license law has helped improve
public safety by lessening fear
among immigrants to report crimes
to police. She also said the state
has ample safeguards for verifying the identification provided by
immigrants to obtain a driver's license. -AP

Reaction to Ga. illegal immigration
bill is varied
ATLANTA: Georgia lawmakers
considering a bill that seeks to
crack down on illegal immigration
in the state heard varied reactions
from about 30 people.
The House Judiciary NonCivil Committee opened the floor
for public comment on a bill proposed by state Rep. Matt
Ramsey, R-Peachtree City. The
committee already heard from
representatives of special interest groups.
Ramsey's bill, and another introduced in the Senate by Sen.
Jack Murphy, R-Cumming,
would require law enforcement
officers who stop a criminal suspect to verify the person's immigration status if they believe
he or she is in the country illegally. The bill would allow officers to arrest illegal immigrants
and take them to a federal detention facility.
Ramsey's bill would also require
all employers with more than five
workers to verify the legal status
of new hires using a federal database called E-Verify.
Ev Howe, an Air Force veteran

and retired Lockheed Martin employee, said he interacts regularly
with illegal immigrants through his
work as an English teacher at his
church.
``I feel like I've been sent back
in time to the years of the 50s and
60s,'' he said. ``This bill makes me
kind of ill.''
He went through the bill section by section, pointing out parts
he said would encourage racial
profiling, prompt frivolous lawsuits and punish people who are
transporting illegal immigrants as
part of charitable work.
Other speakers included regular citizens, lawyers who deal regularly with illegal immigrants, a
sheriff's captain from Gwinnett
County and several activists,
among others.
Sean McKenzie, a high school
teacher from Calhoun, said he's
taught numerous students who
were in the country illegally. He
urged the committee to reject the
bill, saying that it would harm
young people whose parents
brought them here in search of a
better life. -AP

 Health

Line

Larimer Co. jail
opens special
unit due to flu
FORT COLLINS, Colo.: The
Larimer County jail has opened a
special housing unit because of a
flu outbreak.
The Coloradoan reports that
about 10 inmates are in the unit.
County health officials say five
flu cases have been reported at
the jail in Fort Collins.
Sheriff's officials say it's routine to set aside special housing
during flu season to try to reduce
the number of people getting
sick. There are about 500 inmates
at the jail.
County health officials say flu
is "pretty widespread'' in Fort
Collins. -AP


Frisco soil lead
elevated, but
below fed limits
DALLAS: Federal tests show
that lead levels in soil near a suburban Dallas battery-recycling
plant are within federal limits but
exceed what city officials say
they prefer to protect the health
of children.
The Dallas Morning News reports tests by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found
the lead levels were enough to
warrant an immediate health emergency. But city consultant Kerry
Russell says ``there certainly is a
level of concern that's now been
confirmed that we need to do
some more in-depth and extensive
testing.''
Soil samples were taken from
13 sites within a mile of the Exide
Technologies Inc. plant. In November, the EPA found that air
surrounding the plant did not
comply with newly tightened restrictions for lead. -AP


Flu making
rounds in Arizona
community
KINGMAN, Ariz.: Widespread flu activity is being reported in Mohave County and
around Arizona.
The Arizona Department of
Health Services says widespread
activity means several laboratoryconfirmed cases of the flu have
been reported in three or more regions of the state. Arizona is split
into four regions.
Mohave County RN nursing
supervisor Sherry Lawson says
the widespread activity reported
in Mohave County means every
major metropolitan area in the
county has reported several cases
of the virus. -AP

Health Science
February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

India Post

37

Pediatrics report
details risks from
energy drinks
CHICAGO: Energy drinks are
under-studied, overused and can
be dangerous for children and
teens, warns a report by doctors
who say kids shouldn't use the
popular products. -AP

Nationwide sharing planned
for donated livers
WASHINGTON: Doctors
dropped another bomb soon after telling Matthew Rosiello it was
time for a liver transplant: The 21year-old isn't likely to get one any
time soon in his home state of
New York. Consider traveling to
Ohio, they advised, where the
wait's a lot shorter.
Where you live plays a big role
in how sick you are, and how long
you wait, before getting a scarce
liver transplant if you survive
long enough. Now the network
that runs the U.S. organ transplant
system is exploring steps to ease
some of the disparities. Critics
who want more nationwide sharing of donated livers fear any
changes won't help enough.
``I'll go anywhere for my son.
This is his life,'' says Matthew's
mother, Randy Rosiello of New
York City, who has begun researching waiting lists from Ohio
to North Carolina as the family
debates its next step.
But she doesn't think her son
should have to leave his doctors
at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center, or undergo the stress
of travel. Plus, she worries, ``if I
have to go, I'm putting my family
into financial ruin.''
The nation has a severe shortage of donated livers. More than
16,000 people are awaiting a liver
transplant, and just 6,300 a year

get one. More than 1,400 others
die waiting each year.
Since 2002, the sickest patients
have been ranked atop waiting
lists to receive a liver from a deceased donor. They're given a socalled MELD score, based on
laboratory tests, that predicts
their risk of death. Rising scores
move them up on the waiting list.
The change by all accounts has
greatly improved the system,
which once was based instead on
time spent waiting.

to someone who's not as sick rather than to someone sicker in
the next transplant region.
Patients can shop around for
shorter lines, even get on more
than one list, if they have the
means to get to a far-away hospital within hours of a liver becoming available. For instance, Apple
CEO Steve Jobs' 2009 liver transplant was in Tennessee, where
the wait was much shorter than
back home in California.
But Mount Sinai liver trans-

The nation has a severe shortage of donated
livers. More than 16,000 people are awaiting a
liver transplant, and just 6,300 a year get one.
More than 1,400 others die waiting each year
Here's the lingering trouble:
Patients with liver failure and
would-be donors are not distributed evenly around the country.
And the nation is divided into
11 transplant regions that have
wide variations in patients and
available organs, between regions and within them.
A donated liver is offered first
to the sickest patients in the local transplant center, and if
there's no good match, then to the
sickest patients throughout that
transplant region. If there's still
no good match, the liver can go

plant chief Dr. Sander Florman
says that system isn't fair to
those who can't afford to maximize their chances.
``If a patient can get on an airplane and go to Florida, why can't
the liver get on an airplane and
come to New York?'' he asks.
For patients like Matthew
Rosiello, the news that New
Yorkers wait longer for a liver
complicates already agonizing
treatment choices.
When he was a baby, Rosiello
had complex liver surgery for a
rare birth defect, biliary atresia,

and more surgery a few years ago
that postponed a transplant. But
now repeated liver infections
and other complications have
put him in the hospital three
times in about a month, require
IV care and forced him to quit
college. Still, his MELD score is
low, something doctors warn
could change rapidly - but that
also means he should consider a
place with a shorter wait.
``He's frightened to death,''
says Randy Rosiello as the family peruses an Internet database
- the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients - that compares
wait times and success rates.
How big are the differences?
The United Network for Organ
Sharing says that in three regions stretching from Ohio
down through Tennessee and
on to Florida, adults receiving
new livers in the past year had
median MELD scores of 23 to
24. But in the New York and
western Vermont region, liver
recipients were far sicker, with a
median score of 32. Only the region that includes California
fared worse, with 37.
Within regions, rates of people
who die on the waiting list or become too sick to transplant range
from fewer than 10 percent to more
than 25 percent each year.
Cont’d on page 39

LA County says 170 sickened at conference
LOS ANGELES: A mysterious
illness sickened about 170
people attending a global
Internet conference in Southern
California, but it was unclear if a
party at the Playboy Mansion
played any role in spreading it,
health officials said here.
The Los Angeles County's
Department of Public Health said
it learned that people who attended the DOMAIN fest Global conference in Santa Monica
had come down with a suspected respiratory infection.
The agency contacted everyone associated with the
conference, and so far about

The conference ran from Feb. 1-3 and drew
some 700 people from 30 countries to lectures and attend workshops in Santa Monica
170 people have reported fever,
chills, coughs or other signs of
illness.
The type of illness and source
of exposure remained under investigation.
The conference ran from Feb.
1-3 and drew some 700 people
from 30 countries to lectures and
attend workshops in Santa
Monica.

Nighttime events included a
Polynesian-themed pool and garden party, a networking event at
the famed Los Angeles Skybar,
and a Feb. 3 charity fundraiser
at the Playboy Mansion in
Holmby Hills.
"At this time, public health
has not determined that the
source of exposure is limited to
a specific location,'' the agency's

statement said.
The Playboy Mansion was
cooperating fully with the
health investigation, said an email from Teri Thomerson,
spokeswoman for Playboy Enterprises Inc.
Health officials said it appeared the illness was confined
to the conference-goers.
Because many live outside of
Los Angeles County, officials
were investigating in cooperation with health departments in
surrounding counties, the state
Department of Public Health,
and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. -AP

38

Health Science Post

India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

Eating more fiber could
mean longer life
CHICAGO: Eat more fiber and
you just may live longer.
That's the message from the
largest study of its kind to find a
link between high-fiber diets and
lower risks of death not only from
heart disease, but from infectious
and respiratory illnesses as well.
The government study also ties
fiber with a lower risk of cancer
deaths in men, but not women,
possibly because men are more
likely to die from cancers related
to diet, like cancers of the esophagus. And it finds the overall benefit to be strongest for diets high
in fiber from grains.
Most Americans aren't getting
enough roughage in their diets.
The average American eats only
about 15 grams of fiber each day,
much less than the current daily
recommendation of 25 grams for
women and 38 grams for men, or 14
grams per 1,000 calories. For example, a slice of whole wheat bread
contains 2 to 4 grams of fiber.
In the new study, the people
who met the guidelines were less
likely to die during a nine-year follow-up period.
The men and women who ate
the highest amount of fiber were
22 percent less likely to die from
any cause compared to those who
ate the lowest amount, said lead
author Dr. Yikyung Park of the
National Cancer Institute.
The study, appearing in Archives
of Internal Medicine, included more
than 388,000 adults, ages 50 to 71,
who participated in a diet and health
study conducted by the National
Institutes of Health and AARP.
They filled out a questionnaire
in 1995 or 1996 about their eating
habits. It asked them to estimate

how often they ate 124 food items.
After nine years, more than 31,000
of the participants had died. National records were used to find out
who died and the cause of death.
The researchers took into account other risk factors including
weight, education level, smoking
and health status and still saw
lower risks of death in people who
ate more fiber.
``The results suggest that the
benefits of dietary fiber go beyond
heart health,'' said Dr. Frank Hu of
the Harvard School of Public

The evidence for
fiber's benefits has
been strongest in
diabetes and heart
disease, where it's
thought to improve
cholesterol levels
Health, who wasn't involved in the
new research but co-authored an
editorial in the journal.
The evidence for fiber's benefits has been strongest in diabetes and heart disease, where it's
thought to improve cholesterol
levels, blood pressure, inflammation and blood sugar levels. Fiber's
benefits also may come from its
theorized ability to bind to toxins
and move them out of the body
quicker. High-fiber diets can promote weight loss by making
people feel full, which has its own
health-promoting effects.
However it works, fiber may
offer a prevention benefit against
killers like pneumonia and flu, the
new study suggests. The cancer
benefit may have shown up only

in the men because they're more
likely than women to die from cancers related to diet, Park said.
Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables and beans. But fiber from
grains was most strongly tied to
the lowered risk in the study.
``That's what seemed to be driving all these relationships,'' said
Lawrence de Koning of the
Harvard School of Public Health,
a co-author of the editorial.
Whole grains also contain vitamins and minerals, which may
play a role in reducing risk, he said.
For that reason, supplements may
not be as effective.
``Nothing beats the original
food,'' he said. He suggested substituting whole wheat bread for
white bread as a simple way to increase fiber from grains.
What does a high-fiber diet
look like? A woman who wants to
meet the 25 gram guidelines for
daily fiber intake could eat onethird cup of bran cereal (9 grams),
a half cup of cooked beans (10
grams), a small apple with skin (4
grams) and a half cup of mixed
vegetables (4 grams). -AP

More Iowans going to Minn.
for medical care
DES MOINES, Iowa: A growing number of Iowans traveling
to Minnesota for medical care at
the Mayo Clinic have added to
the state's largest health insurer's
costs and contributed to rate increases.
Laura Jackson, a vice president
for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue
Shield, told the Des Moines
Register that it costs twice as
much for care at the Mayo Clinic
than at in-state facilities that provide the same services. That's
because Wellmark has more leverage to negotiate cost breaks
with Iowa providers who depend
on in-state customers than with
Mayo, she said.
``We have great physicians who
provide quality care at low cost
right here in Iowa,'' Jackson said.
Wellmark provides coverage to
about 2.1 million people in Iowa
and South Dakota. The insurer
said it spends more than $125 million a year for care at the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for
about 12,000 customers.
"In reality, it's not a lot of
people going to Mayo, but it's a
lot of dollars,'' said Michael Fay, a
Wellmark vice president.

Wellmark said that's among the
reasons for its higher premiums.
The insurer raised rates an average of 18 percent last year and will
raise them again, by an average
of 8.5 percent, in April.
There is no additional premium
for customers getting care at
Mayo, and Wellmark said there
are no plans to institute one.

'We have great
physicians who
provide quality
care at low cost
right here in Iowa,'
Jackson said
Ottumwa businessman Kermit
Knott, 50, goes to Mayo for treatment of a rare type of lymphoma.
He said that when he made the decision to go, he didn't consider
how much it would cost him in outof-pocket expenses or Wellmark.
``It's my life,'' Knott said. ``I
want to be able to go to Mayo or
Johns Hopkins or wherever I need
to go.'' -AP

Harmful medical devices
get OK too easily
CHICAGO: Most medical devices recalled in recent years because of deaths or life-threatening problems were cleared for approval under less stringent regulations that don't require human
testing, an analysis found.
The report comes as the Food
and Drug Administration is reviewing sweeping proposals to
revise the medical device approval
process. The studied devices fell
under rules for products similar to
ones on the market, not regulations for brand new ones, which
call for more extensive testing.
Thousands of deaths or serious medical problems occurred in
patients with the recalled devices,
which included external heart
defibrillators, brain shunts and
implanted pumps that deliver cancer drugs, the researchers said.
Device makers say the new
data are flawed and conflict with
previous reports.
For their analysis, the researchers looked at the FDA's list
of high-risk devices that were recalled from 2005 through 2009.
Of the 113 highest-risk recalled
devices, 71 percent, or 80 devices, had been approved

through the less stringent regulation. Only 19 percent, or 21 devices, were approved under a
stricter process for brand new
products that involves inspections and human testing. Eight
were registered with the FDA but
exempt from regulation.

Thousands of deaths
or serious medical
problems occurred
in patients with the
recalled devices
``Because so many medical devices are not being held to a
higher safety standard, people
are dying who wouldn't otherwise die and who don't have to
die, and people are being harmed
who don't have to be harmed,''
said study co-author Diana
Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for
Women & Families, a Washington-based health advocacy
group.
FDA spokeswoman Karen
Riley said the study's findings
aren't new and noted that the re-

calls it highlighted represent a
small portion of the more than
19,000 devices cleared through
the less strict standard during
those years.
The report appears in Archives of Internal Medicine. An
editorial says the analysis shows
that ``millions of Americans may
be at risk for device-related injuries and recalls from high-risk
devices that were cleared by FDA
without any supporting clinical
trial data.''
``The public deserves better
protection,'' the editorial said.
The researchers didn't include
a tally of all deaths and injuries
linked with the recalled devices.
They noted that in 2006 alone,
the FDA received reports of 2,830
potential device-related deaths
and more than 100,000 injuries.
More than half of the deaths were
linked with devices approved under the less rigid process.
AdvaMed, a medical device
makers trade group, said the
analysis conflicts with other reports including one with industry
ties showing devices cleared
through that process have a good
safety record. -AP

So UNOS' liver committee is seeking feedback from transplant centers about options
to improve, in hopes of proposing changes
later this year.
Topping the list: If a liver isn't a good
match to the sickest patients within one region - as measured by a MELD of 15 or more
- offer it nationwide before giving it to a
less sick local patient.
But small steps won't help the toughest
regions, contends Mount Sinai's Florman.
New York transplant centers suggest
splitting the country into four or five ``super regions'' where the sickest patients in
the entire zone would get first dibs. No,
livers don't last outside the body as long
as kidneys that often are shipped long
distances. But Florman says his hospital
successfully flies in livers from Florida
that hospitals there turn down as lessthan-optimal - because, say, the donor
was elderly - meaning better organs
should have no problem.
And often less-than-optimal organs go
to waste, because of restrictions on when
hospitals can take a chance with them, adds
Dr. Thomas Fishbein of Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., another hard-hit area.
Bigger moves would encounter more resistance, cautions Dr. Kenneth Washburn
of the University of Texas Health Science

Center, who chairs UNOS' liver committee
and views modest change as an important
first step. A proposal for regional sharing
that skipped the local transplant center
prompted ``a lightning rod'' of objections
from hospitals that stood to lose organs,
he says.
Indeed, centers with shorter waits say
they do a good job of encouraging organ
donations and other regions should try
to improve.

While short-term relief is needed,
more organ donation is the
long-term answer, agrees
Georgetown's Fishbein: 'It's
only because we're so short of
livers that we fight over the
livers that are there'
``If you equate it to hunger, people try to
figure out how to come up with more food,
not which kid gets the sandwich,'' says Dr.
Joseph Tector, transplant chief at Indiana
University Health.
While short-term relief is needed, more
organ donation is the long-term answer,
agrees Georgetown's Fishbein: ``It's only
because we're so short of livers that we fight
over the livers that are there.'' -AP

India Post

39

Tech News
More funds
sought for ailing
Air India
NEW DELHI: The Civil Aviation Ministry has sought more
budgetary support for Air India
claiming that almost 65 per cent of
the turnaround plan of the ailing
national carrier has been implemented.
The issue of additional support
was raised by Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi at a meeting here
with Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee, during which the two
leaders discussed issues pertaining to the aviation sector in the
upcoming Budget.
"We informed him that whatever decision had been taken, we
have implemented almost 65 per
cent of it and something more is
to be implemented," Ravi told reporters after the hour-long meeting.
Regarding government guarantees on the hefty loans Air India
has taken to fund its fleet acquisition, he said, "The guarantee has
to come .... because the RBI, the
SBI need some kind of assurance.
All financial matters were discussed."
ContĂ­d on page 42

Honda recalls
57,853 City
sedans in India
NEW DELHI: Japanese auto
major Honda has said it is recalling 57,853 units of its mid-sized
Sedan City in India to replace a
faulty engine part, as part of a global exercise.
The company, which runs operations in India through a joint
venture with the Siel Group Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) - said
the recall will cover only the thirdgeneration City models that were
manufactured between November,
2008, and December, 2009.
In a statement, HSCI said it
would carry out preventive part
replacement of the lost motion
spring in the valve train of the City
sedans being recalled.
"HSCI is proactively replacing
the part in these vehicles with a
new improved part," it said.
The defective lost motion
springs, which are compressed by
rocker arms in normal engine use,
may bend or break over time, resulting in abnormal engine noise
and potentially causing engine
stalling and problems in re-starting, the statement added.
"The replacement would be carried out free of cost and the company will communicate directly
with the owners of the cars which
are covered under this part replacement," it said. -PTI

NEW YORK: US Commerce
Secretary Gary Locke called his
just concluded six-day, three-city
trade mission to India a "resounding success" with several American companies having made inroads into "one of the most promising high-technology markets in
the world".
Locke and a delegation of 24
US businesses traveled to New
Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai to
promote their technologies and
services related to civil nuclear
energy, civil aviation, defense and
homeland security, and information and communications technology to India.
This mission provided the US
delegation access to key Indian
public and private sector decisionmakers to explore opportunities to
enter or expand their presence in
this emerging market.
"This trade mission was a resounding success," Secretary
Locke said upon its conclusion.
"For some companies on our trip,
'success' was an initial meeting or
consultation with Indian government or business leaders that will
lead to deals down the road. For
US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke with the Mumbai Dabbawalas
others, success was more immediate with some companies leaving Raghunath Medge provided companies traveling with the trade
India on the cusp of making multi- Locke with an overview of the mission, emphasized the need to
million dollar sales. Either way, organization's labeling and sorting move forward with the next phase
these companies have made im- methodology and the dispatch of civil nuclear cooperation and
portant inroads into one of the process. Dabbawala's lunch deliv- resolve outstanding liability and
most promising high-technology ery service has been cited as a licensing issues expeditiously.
markets in the world."
model of entrepreneurship and
"The US is committed to greater
Of significant importance in the midst
of the Secretary's Locke highlighted the
packed high-level
meetings in all the importance of the aerothree cities, was his space sector to the USvisit to Mumbai's legendary Dabbawala India trade relationship at
Association on the Aero India 2011, India's
concluding day of his
largest aerospace
mission.
Locke met with the trade event
Dabbawalas to learn
about their unique logistics operation that
supply chain management at the bilateral commercial collaboration
delivers home-cooked food to grass-roots level.
and developing a strategic parthundreds of thousands of people
Locke, who was joined in the nership with India, as evidenced
daily. Association president meeting by the US civil nuclear by the steps we've take to expand

defense and high-technology
trade and implementing the export
control reforms President Obama
announced in November," Secretary Locke said. "In my conversations with Indian government officials and economic leaders, I repeatedly stressed how the continued market openings the US
sought in India would ultimately
bring tremendous benefits to both
countries."
During the six-day mission,
Locke met with India's Minister of
Commerce Anand Sharma, Minister of Finance Pranab Mukherjee,
Minister of Defense M.K Anthony, and Deputy Chairman of the
Planning Commission Montek
Singh Ahluwalia, among other
high-level government officials.
The Commerce Secretary
stressed the importance of the USIndia economic relationship and
discussed avenues for enhancing
this critical partnership, and raised
longstanding and emerging issues
- including market access barriers
and intellectually property protection - facing US companies in the
Indian market.
Locke highlighted the importance of the aerospace sector to
the US-India trade relationship at
Aero India 2011, India's largest
aerospace trade event. He also
met with high-level CEOs, including Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of
Tata Group, and Mukesh
Ambani,Chairman of Reliance Industries LTD.
The pace of trade between the
United States and India is
accelerating. Between 2002
and 2009, US goods exports to India quadrupled,
growing from $4.1 billion to
more than $16.4 billion.
Through the first eleven
months of 2010, U.S. merchandise exports to India
totaled $17.6 billion, up 17
percent from the same period in 2009. With economic growth estimates at
about 9.7 percent in 2010,
India is a key market for the
Obama Administration's National
Export Initiative, which aims to
double US exports in five years.

TechBiz Post

February 25, 2011

India Post

41

www.indiapost.com

CBI questions Anil Ambani
on dual tech

Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani leaves the CBI HQ in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: The CBI has
questioned ADAG chairman Anil
Ambani amid allegations that his
group received favors from former
Telecom Minister A Raja in getting
dual technology and a role for
Reliance Telecom in promoting
Swan Telecom.
Ambani, 51, arrived at the CBI
headquarters much ahead of the
called time of 5 PM and waited at
the reception before he was
quizzed by the agency officials,
CBI sources said.
He did not speak to the media
before entering the CBI headquarters for giving clarifications on the

possible role of Reliance Telecom
Limited (RTL), a subsidiary of
ADAG, in Swan.
Swan Telecom, in which Tiger
Traders Private Limited have 90.13
and RTL has 9.87 equity share
capital, has been under the scanner over alleged diversion of
funds to DMK-owned Kalaignar
television.
DB Realty group Managing
Director Shahid Usman Balwa was
arrested by the CBI earlier this
month.
After the appearance of
Ambani, the sources said other top
brass of telecom companies in-

cluding that of Tata Tele Services
and Idea would be called for clarification.
According to the CAG, four
Companies including Reliance
Communications Ltd were provided CDMA based mobile service under Unified Access Service
license.
Based on the recommendations
of TRAI, use of dual technology
was permitted on October 17, 2007
and RCom is alleged to have applied even before the announcement of the policy.
Reliance Communication Ltd.
had complied with the requirements for permission to use dual
technology on October 19 2007 itself by depositing the non refundable entry fee of Rs 1645 crore for
20 service areas through Reliance
Infocomm Ltd.
The CAG had said that acceptance of bank draft from Reliance
Infocomm Ltd (third party) on behalf of Reliance Communications
Ltd was not in order and showed
the hurry through which entry fee
was deposited.
In a statement here, ADAG said,
"during the course of his weekly
visit to New Delhi, Ambani "met
CBI officials to clarify ongoing issues, relating to telecom matters
for the years 2001 to 2010, and virtually every telecom operator in
the country".
It said no summons of any kind
have been issued by CBI to
Ambani.
The ADAG statement said,
"Neither Relinace Telecom nor
RCOM nor any Reliance ADA
Group individual, company or affiliate held even a single share in
Swan Telecom Ltd at the time of
grant of the 2G license to them in
January, 2008, or at any time thereafter". -PTI

I think that is the direction in
which we must move," Singh said
during his meeting with editors of
the electronic media here.
He also said in addition to
these steps, India needs to attract
investment from foreign countries.
Discussions are going on to
create a infrastructure development fund and Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee may make
some announcements in this direction, he said.
"I think some discussions are

going on... and most probably, I
think, Finance Minister will outline something in that direction,"
he added.
Poor infrastructure, including
bad roads and power shortage,
are affecting the country's growth
and flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in important areas.
The government has projected
an investment of USD 1 trillion in
the country's infrastructure sector in the 12th Five-Year Plan, of
which it expects 50 per cent to
come from the private sector. -PTI

Need to create environment
for FDI: PM
NEW DELHI: In the backdrop veloped economies also played a
of demands for opening multi- part in foreign investments combrand retail for FDI and liberaliz- ing into India.
ing the regime for other sectors like
"It is also a function of what
defense,
Prime
Minister policies our other friends, particuManmohan Singh has admitted larly, the developed countries
there was a need for "favorable" adopt," he said.
environment for fund flow from
During April-December of the
abroad.
current fiscal, FDI inflows declined
"I think we need to strengthen by 23.14 per cent to USD 16.03 bilthe resolve to create favorable en- lion over the year ago period.
vironment for
larger flow of
funds from
abroad", he
said.
Addressing
editors of electronic media
here, he, however added the
government's
policies could
not be blamed
for drop in FDI
as the current
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks during an
interaction with the Editors of TV channels at his
international
residence 7RCR in New Delhi Feb 16
scenario was
prompting foreign funds to
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It is not our mistake (downflow in FDI).
move out from
emerging mar- The international situation is such that
kets.
"It is not funds are moving out of emerging
our mistake markets. We are today functioning in
(downflow in
FDI). The in- an environment where what hapt e r n a t i o n a l pens outside affects usâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
situation is
such
that
funds are moving out of emerging
The Government has taken sevmarkets. We are today function- eral steps like initiating discusing in an environment where what sions on opening multi-brand rehappens outside affects us," tail for FDI.
Singh said.
It is also in process of analyz"Therefore is not easy to say ing feedbacks received from stakethat what happens to fund flow is holders to further liberalize the
entirely a function of our policy," defense sector.
he added
Currently, 26 per cent FDI is alThe Prime Minister also stated lowed in defense manufacturing. that policies followed by the de- PTI

TechBiz Post

42 India Post

February 25, 2011

www.indiapost.com

Imports from Japan to
become cheaper
TOKYO: India has signed its
"most ambitious" free trade agreement with Japan, with the two major Asian economies committing to
eliminate import duties on 94 per
cent of their trade in 10 years.
The FTA is expected to come
into force from April this year.
Import of consumer goods like
electronics - indicator panels of
LCDs and LEDs, mobile phones
including SIM and memory cards,
calculators, electrical - battery
chargers, compact discs and
DVDs, from Japan to India will
become duty free as soon as the
agreement is implemented.
Textiles like woven and silk fabrics will also become part of duty
free items.
The pact, the third major by India within a year, will provide access to Indian professionals like
accountants, researchers, yoga
and English teachers and management consultants to Japanese market hit by ageing population.
The Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA),
officially named so, was signed
here by Japanese Foreign Affairs
Minister Seiji Maehara and India's
Commerce and Industry Minister
Anand Sharma.
"The agreement will ensure access to a highly developed Japanese market for the (Indian) pharmaceutical sector with Japan for
the first time committing to give
the same treatment for Indian generics as their domestic industry,"
India's Commerce Ministry statement said.
Besides, Indian agricultural products like instant tea, seafood would
also find their way into the Japanese
market at concessional duties.
India's textiles products including readymade garments stand to
gain significantly in terms of market access to Japan.

Japan would also lower tariffs
on petrochemicals, chemical products, jewellery and cement.
Though passenger cars have
been kept in the negative list and
will not be subject to concessional
duties, some of the critical car parts
imported by India-based automobile plants like that of Suzuki would
get duty free treatment.
The CEPA will also cover easing of rules for mutual investments.
"India stands to gain significantly through this agreement
where 90 per cent of tariff lines are
covered, while Japan has covered
five per cent more tariff lines than
India".
However, it has provision for

protecting sensitive sectors like
some auto parts, edible oils, wines
and spirits, agri products like
wheat and rice, it said.
The CEPA is expected to give a
boost to USD 12.35 billion bilateral trade.
"I am confident that through
this agreement our bilateral trade
would double by 2015 and touch
USD 25 billion," Sharma said.
India has already entered into
FTA with Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and South
Korea.
Under the pact, the two countries will continue talks over the
issue of whether to allow Indian
nationals to work in Japan as
nurses and "caregivers". -PTI

More funds sought for ailing Air India
ContĂ­d from page 40

He said certain clarifications
had been sought by Finance Ministry officials. The replies would
be sent soon so that a final decision on the matter could be taken
at the earliest.
Asked whether the Ministry has
asked for additional equity infusion
of Rs 2,000 crore, he said, "I have
asked for little more money, I cannot tell you how much."
To further queries, he said the
estimated amount had been given
by Deloitte, the consultancy firm
appointed by Air India to go into

its turnaround plan. "We want
more money if we can get more."
Asked about Mukherjee's response, Ravi said the government
would help Air India but it would
come "depending on how we are
progressing step by step. So it
means we have to earn more money
and gradually reach the break-even
point."
Air India has so far received a
total of Rs 2,000 crore as equity in
two tranches and earlier reports
said the Civil Aviation Ministry has
sought another Rs 2,000 crore in
the next financial year.
Official sources said a provision

for at least Rs 1,200 crore worth of
equity could be made in the 201112 budget and another tranche
could be given in the supplementary budget later this year.
Asked about the remaining priorities of Air India's turnaround
plan, Ravi said a major issue was
that of integration of employees
and assets of the two erstwhile
public sector carriers -- Indian Airlines and Air India.
"I said give me some time. My first
priority is my employees. Integration
is the main point. Routes also. I am
going to look into pricing of tickets
also," the Minister said.-PTI

Devas threatens legal action if
deal with Antrix annulled
NEW DELHI: Objecting to a rights, we have not yet heard from
government move to annul its con- the government in this regard," the
tract with Antrix following the S- statement said.
band spectrum controversy,
"The Devas-DOS/ISRO/Antrix
Devas Multimedia has said it Agreement is in line with the
would take "strong" legal steps to government's 1997 SatCom Policy.
protect its rights and interests.
The company has complied with
Contending that it had a legally all its obligations under this agreebinding agreement with ISRO's ment and is in compliance with all
commercial arm Antrix, Devas said laws and rules in respect of conit expected the government to ful- ducting its business," it said.
fill all its obligations under the
"The company also notes the
agreement and will take
strong steps, including leIt termed as "disturbing
gal, to protect its rights.
"We have grave conand inappropriate" the
cerns regarding the
government's "unilateral"
government's statement on
pre-meditated annulment of
decision to terminate the
the agreement, despite
agreement "without due
pending high-power committee and CAG reviews
investigative process
which are still in the preliminary stages," a statement
issued by the Bangalore-based increasing public awareness of the
company said here.
vested political and business inIt termed as "disturbing and terests in conjunction with certain
inappropriate" the government's media organizations that have
"unilateral" decision to terminate been instrumental in bringing
the agreement "without due inves- about an intentional gross misreptigative process and without fol- resentation of the facts of Devaslowing the principles of natural DOS/ISRO/Antrix satellite tranjustice".
sponder capacity lease and tying
"In spite of the company's will- it inappropriately to unrelated
ingness to co-operate and assist telecom spectrum issues for their
in required government reviews own purposes," the statement
without prejudice to our legal said. -PTI

IIM-A plans campuses in Dubai
and Singapore
AHMEDABAD: Top B-school Barua said.
Indian Institute of Management,
"Smaller board size can play a
Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has said it very effective role in governance
was exploring the possibility of of the institutes and can do wonsetting up campuses in Dubai and ders," he said.
Singapore.
"Opening campuses overseas
"We are looking at the possibil- makes sense as students there
ity, but I think there is still a year want to study in their own country
left till we can set up campuses instead of spending two years in
overseas in Dubai and
Singapore," IIM-A Director
"The programs to be ofSamir Barua told reporters.
"Whether it would be
fered in Dubai or
satellite campuses or proSingapore in my view will
grams to be offered from
have to be different from
such centers will have to be
discussed with the faculty
those being offered here,"
and the Governing Board
the director said
first," he said.
"The programs to be offered in Dubai or Singapore in my another country. We would like to
view will have to be different from tap that demand," Barua said.
those being offered here," the diThe IIM-A has 65 partner instirector said.
tutions, essentially B- schools,
He said the Union HRD Minis- overseas for student exchange protry, in October last year, had given grams.
its nod to IIMs for opening camAbout the trends of ongoing
puses outside India and has also placements at IIM-A, Barua said,
given permission to cut down the "Early indications are that the numsize of IIMs' Governing Board from ber of offers have gone up and
25 members to an effective number. compensations offered by compaA final decision in this regard nies have also surged as compared
will be taken by IIM-A Society, to the last year." -PTI

Horoscope

February 25, 2011

India Post 43

www.indiapost.com

Your Weekly future
February 25th - March 03rd
by Pandit Parashar

ARIES (March 21 to April 20)

C

hildren will continue to do well and you
may be slowly getting ready for a short
vacation. You may write a check to government in shape of a fine or penalty. Stress will
reduce and you will be looking forward as all
signs will be positive. Try to stay clear of
people who proved trouble makers in the past.
You will purchase nice things for yourself.

TAURUS (April 21 to May 20)

A

government agency will give headache
and you will definitely need some outside
help to resolve this issue. Try to stay clear of
situations that can hurt your image in close
circle. You will be exploring some new avenues to improve your revenues. You may have
pain in the right shoulder. Property deal can
finally materialize this week.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22)

Y

ou will need outside help to tackle the
problem before it take a mammoth
shape. Remedy might sound expensive but
it's better to kill the problem now and get on
with your life. Some of you will be getting ready
to launch another major project in association with people close to you. You will be taking a trip to a costal area with family.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22)

P

resence of Venus and Mars can bring you
very close to an interesting person. It will
not be a very good idea to open up very quickly
and pass on all the information. Money wise
you will start to do better from now and will
see money in savings too. A property deal
can bring some extra cash. You will be
tempted to visit an old friend.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19)

E

xpenses will not leave you alone but it
will all go on good reasons. Suddenly you
may develop taste for sweets and have the
chance to relish food of your choice this week.
You will have some work done in or around
the property too. Children will make plans for
a short vacation and it could be a road trip to
another state.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20)

S

taying double minded will make things
worse. Make up your mind and move on,
that's the word from planets this week. Some
of you may need to meet your dentist also.
Business will improve but still not well enough.
Offer may not look attractive now but will bring
stability in life. You will become more health
conscious and make changes in diet.

LEO (July 23 to August 22)

S

tress will reduce and you will be working
less hours. Past efforts will pay off now
and soon you will be rewarded. You will be
shaking hands with a well known group and
this could be the beginning of an adventurous
journey. You will spend quality time with some
powerful people and learn a lot. Money wise
you will stay comfortable.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 22)

T

hings will keep getting more challenging
every day at work. Some of you will be
preparing for a highly competitive exam that
can bring drastic changes in career. Expenses
will stay under controls and you will have
some money in the bank. There will be movement on pending appeal and the justice would
be served in your favor soon.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22)

M

oney will be an issue in mind all the time.
Boss will become more demanding.
Your search for another proper job will continue. You will be spending lots of money on
children this week. You may be spending more
time away from home for business purpose.
You will be working on a long distance trip
and coordinate with people on other side.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 to December 22)

Y

ou will continue to meet your commitments on time but will hardly have anything left. Offer you had been waiting for can
come during the week. You will become religious and may plan some kind of prayers at
your place. This is a better week for people in
sales. You may have some visitors at your
place this summer.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18)

M

ind will stay restless. Running around
will not go waste. Storm will settle down
and you can expect more stability in career
from now and on. Soon you will be taking
trip to a real nice place. It will be better to
dispose off money making stocks and wait
for another week to buy them back. You will
meet few powerful people this week.

Pandit Parashar, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individual consultations.
He can be reached at: parashar@parashar.com

PISCES (February 19 to March 20)

T

ake care of your health. Money will come
and go on buying some expensive items
for self or the house. Legal matters will take a
favorable turn and you will become optimistic. Competition will reduce a lot and people
creating hurdles will quit the scene. You will
give final shape to a short family vacation also
and slowly start preparations.

925-833-7170
website: www.parashar.com

SPORTS
44

India Post

www.indiapost.com

February 25, 2011

ICC World Cup opens with Dhaka
pride and passion ceremony
DHAKA: The opening ceremony of
World Cup 2011 began with much fervor at
the Bangabandhu National Stadium in
Dhaka's posh Mirpur area on Feb 17
evening.
A lively choir sang the country's national
anthem - 'Amar Shonar Bangla' by Nobel
Laureate Rabindranath Tagore - at the start
of the ceremony as a jampacked stadium
came alive with passion and pride.
A Bangla band then took the stage and
sang 'Chiney Nao Amake', inviting the
world to get to know all about the country
that is hosting a major sporting event for
the first time.
The championship's mascot, the elephant Stumpy, rode in on a three-wheeled
cycle rickshaw.
And, as was widely written, so did the
various team captains.
India's very own Sonu Nigam rang our
with an English number -- 'Let's Go For The
Glory' -- as open flames licked the stage.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh
Hasina said the country was proud to host
the sporting event. She thanked the ICC
board for choosing Bangladesh as the
venue for the opening ceremony. "I believe
that international ties will be strengthened
by this sport," she said.
She then declared the ICC Cricket World
Cup, 2011, open sharp at 6.45 pm to an allround display of fireworks.
Bangladeshis cast aside their usual reserved image and proudly displayed their
sporting passion at the gala opening ceremony, as it got underway.
The $30 million jamboree, jointly organized by the International Cricket Conference (ICC) and the Bangladesh Cricket
Board (BCB), will be opened by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Fireworks light up the sky during the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup at Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka on February 17. The opening
ceremony got under way with the captains of the 14 competing teams paraded through the Stadium in colorfully draped rickshaws

could watch the opening ceremony.
It is the first time the country, which is
slowly making a mark in world one-day
cricket if not the five-day test version, has
helped stage the showpiece event which
will last from February 19 to April 2.
The country, whose population of more
than 160 million has suffered more than its
fair share of natural disasters, is jointly
hosting with India and Sri Lanka and thoroughly enjoying its rare moment in the
sporting spotlight.

Unusually for the often chaotic and jampacked Dhaka roads, traffic was relatively
light with the government declaring Thursday a half-day public holiday so its people

"We will be able to improve our image
if we can successfully hold the opening
ceremony and host the World Cup
matches slated for us," Mostafa Kamal,

Unusually for the often chaotic and jam-packed Dhaka
roads, traffic was relatively
light with the government
declaring Thursday a halfday public holiday so its
people could watch the
opening ceremony

Bangladesh on Saturday.
Six Group B matches and two quarterfinal matches will be played until March
25 in Dhaka and the main port city of
Chittagong.
Schools will remain closed on match
days in Dhaka and Chittagong, the government has decreed.
Huge replicas of cricket bats, balls, players and even grounds have been erected
at important road intersections in Dhaka
which, unlike several Indian cities, is

Indian Americans contend ICC World Cup opens with Dhaka
for place in TT teams
pride and passion ceremony
India Post News Service

SAN JOSE, CA: Table tennis,
which has been an Olympic sport
since 1988, is one of the fastest
growing sports in the USA and
the Bay Area has become the center of this growth. It is fitting that
the country's best players will be
coming to San Jose February 25
to 27 to participate in the trials for
both the United States Men's and
Women's National Team and the
Pan American Games teams.
The Pan American Team Trials
are held once every four years and
this is the first time both of these
most prestigious events are being held in the Bay Area to determine which athletes will represent
the United States against international competition.
The trials will take place at the
Top Spin Table Tennis Center.
This 15,000 sq. ft of space is the
premium venue for playing and
viewing table tennis on the West
Coast. Top Spin is one of eighteen
table tennis clubs in the Bay Area
where some of the nation's top players live, train and compete.
Among locals competing for a
place on the teams is number one
seed Ariel Hsing of San Jose, who
won the Women's Singles Championship at the U.S. Nationals in
December, and Kanak Jha of
Milpitas who won the Boy's Under 10 Singles. He is currently
ranked #1 in Boys Under 11 years
old and his sister Prachi Jha is
ranked #1 in Girls Under 14 in the
country. They train with US Men's
National Team Coach Stefan Feth,

who heads the World Champions
Table Tennis Academy, which resides within The Top Spin club.
There are 21 additional local Bay
Area players also competing for
the honor to represent Team USA.
Number 5 seed Barney Reed of
Milpitas will be playing for one of
three team spots along with the
third-ranked USA player Yi Yiong
Fan of Seattle and Michael
Landers of New York, who was the
2009 Men's Singles Champion. The
top two men's and women's players in the trials will earn a spot on

Among locals
competing is Kanak
Jha of Milpitas who
won the Boy's
Under 10 Singles
the team along with a third player
who will be selected by the National Team Coaches. The International Referee for the matches is
Dr.Azmy Ibrahim of San Jose.
Qualifying round matches begin at 9:30 am on Friday February
25.On. Saturday the 26th, the top
12 men and women will be competing for one of four places in
the Men's and Women's finals
that take place on Sunday February 27 from 9:30 am to 2 pm.
A press conference and an exhibition will take place on Tuesday, February 22 at 11 am at Top
Spin located at 1150 Campbell
Ave., San Jose, CA.

The city authorities have renovated the streets, painted the road
sides and footpaths and residents have festooned their homes
and neighborhoods with cricketthemed decorations.
Cricket venues and important
thoroughfares have been specially illuminated at night and will
continue to be lit up throughout
the six-week tournament to add to

the carnival atmosphere.
Dhaka is looking very beautiful, ready and attractive, Basirah
Alam, a New Zealand-based
Bangladeshi who has returned
home on a visit to her parents.
Traffic and unnecessary movement of the public has been restricted by the authorities which
suited Abdul Mannan, a cab
driver of a big Dhaka hotel. Driving is easy and there is no hassle,

he said.
Despite the party mood, authorities were taking no chances
with security. in a region where
memories of the gun attack in Pakistan on the Sri Lankan cricket
team bus in 2009 are still fresh.
That resulted in a ban by the
ICC on Pakistan hosting international matches which still endures.
It was to have shared the honor of
hosting this World Cup. -Agencies

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hen Krishna was a little
boy of four or five, his
father, Nanda, took him
to the field where the cattle were
grazing. Krishna wanted to spring
a surprise on his father, so he created a severe thunderstorm. It began to rain heavily and the trees
were tossing wildly.
Although Krishna was responsible for the storm, he pretended that he knew nothing. He
started crying and screaming, and
he clung to his father for protection. Nanda was trying desperately to protect his child and also
the cattle.
He found that he could not manage to do the two things simultaneously, and so he was in a terrible
predicament. He had to save his
dear child and again, he had to save
the cattle. Nanda could see no way
to bring both the cattle and the child
home safely.
All of a sudden, a most beautiful woman appeared. Nanda was
very relieved to see this unknown
woman who had come at such a
crucial moment. Would you
kindly take care of my child, he
asked. I must take the cattle home
now, then I will come back. I am
sure that you will be able to protect my son.
Do not worry. I will definitely
take good care of your child, the
woman assured Nanda. Nanda departed for home with the frightened

MOTHER MIRRA

I

n the middle of the night before last, I woke up (or rather I
returned to an external consciousness) with the feeling of
having a much larger (by larger I
mean more voluminous) and much
more powerful being in my body
than I usually have.
It was as if it could scarcely
be held inside me but was spilling over; and so compactly
powerful that it was almost uncomfortable. The feeling of: what
to do with all this?
It lasted the remainder of the
night and all day long I had considerable trouble containing an
overwhelming power that spontaneously created reactions utterly disproportionate to a human
body and made me speak in a way
that.... When something was not
going well: wham! Such an instantaneous and strong reply that it
looked like anger.
And I found it difficult to control the movement - it had happened already in the morning and
it very nearly happened again in
the afternoon.
'That last attack has weakened me terribly!' I told myself, I
don't have the strength to con-

cattle. When Krishna and the
woman were alone together, Krishna
did something extraordinary. He created a most enchanting scene and
took the form of a youth.
This youth was dark-skinned;
he wore an orange cloth and on
his forehead, there was a peacock
feather. In his hands, he held a
flute which he was playing so
hauntingly. Krishna looked at the
woman and asked her, "Do you
remember this incident when we

ing for Krishna's father to come
and take his son home. Krishna
stopped the performance and
became a little child again. When
Nanda did not appear and Radha
She was wondering what to do
when she heard a voice telling
her to take the child to Nanda's
house.
Radha was so sad and miserable that she had to return
Krishna to his parents after being reunited with him on earth.

the voice and took the child back
to Nanda's house. After that, she
used to come and visit Krishna
every evening.
There is another version of the
story. It is believed that Radha's
father was a very rich king. When
Radha was still a little girl, he decided it was time for her to get
married. He made all the necessary arrangements for her to marry
a neighboring prince.
But Radha did not want to get

How Lord Krishna met Radha
for the first time
Radha and Krishna were celestial beings
and their love was eternal. Whether they
were married or not, their love made
Radha-Krishna

them united forever

were in Heaven?"
The unknown woman was
Radha, who was Krishna's dearest beloved. Radha replied, "I do
remember this incident. It is very
vivid to me." Krishna was showing Radha a scene from their life
together in Heaven before they
took incarnation on earth. He
wanted to remind Radha of their
eternal oneness.
The time was fast approach-

She was afraid that she would not
be able to see him anymore. But
the voice told her, take the child
back to Nanda and Yashoda. If
you listen to me, I assure you that
you will be able to go and see
your Lord Krishna every evening.
You will meet him and he will play
his flute for you. A part of your
heart will always remain with him.
Radha obeyed the inner message that she had received from

married; she wanted only to be
with Krishna. So, she took her soul
out of her body and kept only a
portion of herself, a shadow of
her real existence, inside her
body. The prince for whom she
was intended married the shadow.
Radha and Krishna were celestial beings and their love was
eternal. Whether they were married or not, their love made them
united forever.

tain this Power; it's difficult to
remain calm and controlled.' That
was my first thought, so I insisted upon calm.
Then yesterday afternoon,
when I went upstairs to walk, a
couple of things occurred - not
personal, but of a general nature
- concerning, for instance, certain old-fashioned conventions

(nothing to do with me personally: it came from here and there).
Then suddenly, I saw a Force
coming ('coming,' well, 'manifesting') which was the same as that
'thing' I had felt within me but
even bigger; it began whirling
upon the earth and within circumstances ... oh, like a cyclone of
compact power moving forward

sult in ... in a war or a revolution
or some catastrophe - a tidal wave
or an earthquake.' So I tried to
counteract it by applying the
highest consciousness to it, that
of a perfect serenity.
And I saw especially that this
consciousness
has
been
missioned to transform the earth
through the Supermind and by

Experience of Supramental
Force on the body
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is getting dangerous. If it continues
like this, it will result in ... in a war or a
revolution or some catastrophe - a tidal
Mother Mirra

having to do with women and
their particular nature (not psychological, physical) - old ideas
like that which had always
seemed utterly stupid to me suddenly provoked a kind of reprobation completely out of proportion to the fact itself.
Then one or two other things
happened in regard to certain
people, certain circumstances

wave or an earthquakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
with the intention of changing all
this! It had to change. At all costs,
it must change!
I was above, as usual (Mother
points above her head, indicating the higher consciousness),
and I looked at that (Mother
bends over, as if looking down at
the earth), and said to myself,
'Hmm, this is getting dangerous.
If it continues like this, it will re-

the supramental Force, avoiding
all catastrophes as far as possible: the Work is to be done as
luminously and harmoniously as
the earth would allow, even by
going at a slower pace if need be.
That was the idea. And I tried to
counteract that whirlwind power
with this consciousness.
Excerpted from the Mother's
Agenda, January 24, 1961

By three methods we
may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection,
which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which
is easiest; and third by
experience, which is
the bitterest.
-Confucius
A wise man is superior
to any insults which can
be put upon him, and
the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation.
-Moliere
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
-Ralph Waldo
Emerson
I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus
in the brightest. I do not
judge the universe.
-Dalai Lama
A pair of powerful
spectacles has sometimes sufficed to cure
a person in love.
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of
whatever solid and durable happiness there
is in our lives.
-C. S. Lewis

he Army Chief wrote the
epitaph on Cold Start, stat
ing, "There is nothing
called 'Cold Start'." But it must be
acknowledged that in its short
shelf life of seven years it had
spawned a cottage industry of
commentators on it. Like the proverbial 'blind men of Hindoostan',
they inspected Cold Start and
found it viable or otherwise, depending on their avian nature as
hawks or doves.
That Cold Start is no more is to
be mourned since it did enliven
strategic commentary, helped create a strategic culture and brought
the Indian political and security establishment to see the military, finally, as a potentially usable instrument. Yet, that the doctrine
remained untested owes to India's
grand strategy, characterized
lately as 'strategic
restraint'.
Strategic restraint is a coming
to terms with limitations of force,
brought on by
things such as the
economy and the
nuclear backdrop.
The term 'Cold
Start' for India's
conventional
doctrine was conjured up in a media briefing by a
'source' on the
sidelines of the
A
r
m
y
Commander's
conference in the
summer of 2004.
The doctrine had been discussed in that conference but was
adopted in the next conference in
autumn that year. It was a culmination of the changes in the Army
brought on by the lessons of the
two preceding crises, the Limited
War in Kargil and the subsequent
exercise in coercive diplomacy,
Operation Parakram.
Incidentally, even as military
analysts made their careers dissecting it, the government in the form
of the Ministry of Defense, took
care never to refer to it. This suggests that it was a legacy of the
previous government, with an image of being more defense-friendly.
The NDA dispensation had
taken care to bring out the nuclear
doctrine while in power, tying India down to its expansive formulation of 'massive' nuclear retaliation against India or its forces 'anywhere'. The threat was to create
the space necessary to
operationalize a proactive conventional war doctrine.

'Cold Start' was a limiting description of the doctrine. Cold
Start refers only to the kind of capability the Army gave itself, of
going into conventional operations from a standing start. This
owed to its embarrassment in having taken three weeks to mobilize
after the parliament attack, thereby
seemingly losing an opportunity
to administer punishment and
thereby instill caution in Pakistan.
The doctrine envisaged a series
of limited thrusts across a wide front
into Pakistan by divisional sized
forces. These were expected to capture territory, seize the initiative and
provide a launch pad for strike
corps to deepen the penetration.
Enemy reserves would thus be
forced to react and expend themselves. Attrition from the air would
enable whittling down the Pakistani

Strategy for advance

Army, seen as the center of gravity.
The Army, suitably degraded,
would be displaced from power
post-conflict in Pakistan, enabling
a democratic peace to ensue unlike
the last time round post 1971.
The doctrine had much to recommend it. It brought India's military advantage back into the reckoning despite nuclearization. It
enabled taking the first tier of defenses when they were unheld or
relatively underdeveloped.
This would have saved India
from casualties, particularly in the
mountains. This would have
helped prevent the development
of an attrition match as had occurred in the earlier wars.
It would be a war fought on Pakistani territory, thus sparing India of
the effects of the increasing lethality of war. Making early gains, India
could call for early war termination
on its terms. Since the nuclear
threshold was to be respected, there
would be no call for Pakistan to resort to nuclear weapons.
Nevertheless, the doctrine had

its criticism. It was seen as narrowing the opportunity for crisis
management and conflict avoidance through diplomacy. It would
set South Asia a short fuse vulnerable to any passing bunch of
self-interested jihadis.
A default military reaction in
real time would place the two
states at odds with each other,
playing into the hands of nonstate actors who would expect to
gain from the resulting instability
in Pakistan.
It was deemed to be too deterministic about the location of the
Pakistani nuclear threshold. It was
taken as high, enabling operations
to a limited depth. This was to be
unmindful of the influence of a
conflict environment on decisionmaking. It was politically na誰ve in
its belief that knocking down the
Pakistani
Army would
result
in
democratic
forces prevailing. The
jihadis could
instead have
come to the
fore.
This could
be due to Pakistan using
them in an
Iraqi style
asymmetric
war against
Indian conventional
forces in Pakistani territory. Lastly, it was seen as part of
the inter-Service rivalry, with the
Army trying to set the agenda as
the lead service, in reply to the
Air Force's intent of an 'air alone'
strategy in an indigenous version
of 'Shock and Awe'.
The Cold Start period was
India's third doctrinal tumult. The
first was a defensive one subsequent to the 1962 and the 1965
Wars in which the lessons of
Ichogil canal were replicated
across the front. The second was
one of mechanized warfare, led by
Sundarji. Cold Start therefore was
long over due, since the Sundarji
doctrine had been overtaken by
overt nuclearization.
Thinking beyond the limitations of Cold Start is the direction
of India's fourth and forthcoming
doctrinal tryst. Cold Start can be
expected to be reckoned in history
as a necessary bridge between
India's war-waging and war-deterring military.
The writer is Research Fellow,
IDSA. Courtesy IPCS

India Post
Congress' self-goal

T

he BJP with its divisive ideology cannot dethrone the
Congress on its own. It has always been the Congress
itself, deluded by memories of its unchallenged one-party
rule days, which has been caught on the wrong foot with
many of its partymen and cronies being exposed in one scam after
another. In the one-party rule days it could get away with murder
because there was no one to challenge it. And it is not any rival
party which has brought it to its present plight of having to defend
the tainted and getting tarred in the process. It is the advance of
technology and the scores of TV channels which are challenging
the rulers of whatever hue with exposures. In the competition to
grab eyeballs and thus ad revenue, the media is making a mockery
of Congress attempts to keep the lid on the misdeeds of its officials,
friends and allies. The more its spin wizards like Kapil Sibal and
Montek Singh Ahluwalia claim "zero loss" in the scams, the more
culpable the party becomes.
It was believed earlier that the BJP being less experienced in
holding power at the Center was being easily exposed in matters of
corruption whereas Congress worthies, being masters in this game,
were sophisticated enough not to be caught out. A glaring example
was how the national chief of BJP, Bangaru Laxman, a Dalit, was
filmed accepting Rupees one lakh from an undercover investigator
of Tehelka magazine in 2001. A Congress operator cannot be caught
in such a brazen manner. And then Congress functionaries do not
indulge in small deals of Rs one lakh kind. As the recent exposures
show, they play games of lakh crores and still manage to get away
because they have dozens of accomplices who then fan out buying
silences. It is only now that the exposures are catching up with the
might of the state because of the relentless pressure of the electronic media.
The BJP as an alternative is not a very attractive proposition.
They do not have among their ranks leaders of stature or of particular competence. Their poster boy Narendra Modi of Gujarat has no
following beyond the state. In fact he is an embarrassment. The
Congress, conscious of its guilt during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984,
has apologized a few times with even Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh also doing so. But Modi has not even made an attempt to say
sorry for the massacres of 2002. And then the BJP can't go to town
proclaiming its clean image. It has not been able to take action against
its own chief minister in Karnataka who has been exposed favoring
his kin by bending rules in the land scam case. If its own major
leaders like BS Yeddyurappa are found engaged in corruption, how
can it go after the Congress party crying foul? Its campaign for the
joint parliamentary committee to investigate Congress scams loses
that much of steam.
The judiciary and the media itself are also fresh victims of credibility loss. In such a widespread atmosphere of vulnerability to
temptation, it seems impossible that anybody will be brought to
book.
The middle class also is not too much troubled by corruption
because they are themselves in the game at the moment. An average
middle class person on the up thinks, "Let me also make my million
first; then you can bring the investigators." The investigators of
the electronic media however have their own momentum. There are
enough scandalized viewers to make it worthwhile for the channels
to go after the misusers of power in the government and elsewhere.